Battle of Daecheong

The Battle of Daecheong was a skirmish between the South Korean and North Korean navies near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) on 10 November 2009 off Daecheong Island. The incident began around 11:27 am when a North Korean navy patrol boat crossed down through the NLL, which is not recognized by North Korea (DPRK). Following two warnings from South Korean naval units, one of the South Korean patrol boats fired a warning shot. In response, the North Korean boat began firing upon the South Korean ship. A patrol boat from the DPRK was seriously damaged suffering eight casualties while the navy of South Korea (ROK) sustained no casualties.[2]

Not to be confused with Northern Limit Line battle at Yeonpyeong or Northern Limit Line ambush at Baengnyeong.
Battle of Daecheong
Part of the Korean Conflict

Daecheong Island (numbered 2)
DateNovember 10, 2009
Location
Off the coast of Daecheong Island, Yellow Sea[1]
Result South Korean Victory
Belligerents
 North Korea  South Korea
Strength
1 gunboat 1 frigate
4 patrol boats
Casualties and losses
1 gunboat moderately damaged
8 injuries		 1 patrol boat slightly damaged

Engagement

The incident began around 11:27 am when a North Korean navy patrol boat crossed down through the NLL, which is not recognized by the DPRK,[3] following two warnings from South Korean naval units. After one more warning announcement, one of the South Korean patrol boats fired a warning shot. In response, the North Korean boat began firing upon the South Korean ship. This resulted in a short exchange of fire between the sides.[4] The North Korea vessel expended approximately 50 rounds, and the South Korean craft returned fire with 200 rounds.[5]

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) the official news agency of North Korea, accused the South Korean Navy of provoking the confrontation at maritime boundary between the two Koreas. The DPRK news agency reported that

... the North side let a patrol boat of the Navy of the KPA on routine guard duty promptly go into action to confirm an unidentified object that intruded into the waters of its side.

When the patrol boat was sailing back after confirming the object at about 11: 20 a group of warships of the South Korean forces chased it and perpetrated such a grave provocation as firing at it.

The patrol boat of the North side, which has been always combat-ready, lost no time to deal a prompt retaliatory blow at the provokers. Much flurried by this, the group of warships of the South Korean forces hastily took to flight to the waters of their side.[6]

Aftermath

After the battle, the South Korea patrol boat had suffered only superficial damage (reportedly 15 bullet marks on the ship's side) with no casualties, while the fire-gutted North Korean patrol boat was left partially destroyed. Though there was no official announcement from North Korea, a news agency in South Korea reported a rumor that North Korea suffered four casualties (1 KIA / 3 WIA).[7] On the other hand, a defector said about 10 North Korean sailors were killed in action.[8] The KCNA pressed South Korea to apologize.[6]

See also

References
  1. Kim, Hyun (November 10, 2009). "N. Korea claims clash occurred on routine duty, demands apology from South". Yonhap. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
  2. Foster, Peter (2009-10-11). "North and South Korean Ships Exchange Fire". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2009-10-11.
  3. Roehrig, Terence (2009). "North Korea and the Northern Limit Line". North Korean Review. 5 (1): 8 – 22.
  4. Kim, Sam (November 10, 2009). "Koreas clash in Yellow Sea, blame each other". Yonhap. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
  5. "Seoul Wary of N. Korean Retaliation". The Korea Times. 2009-10-11. Archived from the original on 2009-11-13. Retrieved 2009-10-11.
  6. DPRK Demands S. Korea Apologize for Armed Provocation Archived December 15, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Korean Central News Agency. November 10, 2009.
  7. "《North and South had battle 7 years absence》 South Korea Defense, Reacted immediately following their battle manual… defeated North Korea ship(《남북 7년만에 서해교전》 軍, 눈치 안보고 교전수칙대로 즉각 대응… 北경비정 격퇴)". Kukmin Daily (국민일보). 2009-10-11. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
  8. http://bemil.chosun.com/nbrd/bbs/view.html?b_bbs_id=10080&pn=1&num=6013

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