North Korea on Monday designated a "peacetime firing zone" along the inter-Korean border in the West Sea. "To counter the reckless military provocative maneuvers by the warmongers in the South Korean military, our Navy declares the waters near the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) in the West Sea as a peacetime naval firing zone of coastal and island artillery units" of the Army, a spokesman said.The sea border was delineated unilaterally by North Korea and lies a way south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto inter-Korean border. That means the firing zone overlaps South Korean territorial waters, raising fears of a threat to South Korean ships. "All fishing boats and naval vessels must take their own safety measures to avoid possible damage within the peacetime naval firing zone."
At inter-Korean military talks right after the first Yeonpyeong Sea Battle in June 1999, the North Korean military called for a new maritime border in the West Sea. The North Korean Army General Staff in September the same year declared the NLL null and void while unilaterally setting a "maritime military control zone."
In the latest statement, the North said, "We once again declare at home and abroad that only the maritime MDL set by us not the illegal NLL exists in the West Sea of Korea."
A South Korean security official said this appears to be a psychological pressure tactic. "They've apparently sought ways to get revenge for their crushing defeat" in a skirmish in the West Sea last month, he said, but added the North will find a physical provocation more difficult.