South Korea's troops are on high alert today for possible retaliation by North Korea after one of its navy ships was nearly destroyed and an officer reportedly killed in a skirmish with the South, ahead of a visit by President Barack Obama.
Yesterday's clash along the disputed western sea border was the first such engagement in seven years, sending tensions soaring about a week before Obama travels to Seoul as part of his Asian tour.
The exchange occurred just hours before the State Department announced a senior US diplomat will travel to North Korea before year's end to try to entice North Korea back into international negotiations on nuclear disarmament. The dispatch of envoy Stephen Bosworth would mark the first direct talks between Washington and Pyongyang since Obama took office in January.
South Korean officials said the North Korean ship was on fire and heavily damaged following a two-minute skirmish off the west coast - the scene of two bloody naval battles in 1999 and 2002. The South Korean ship was only lightly damaged and there were no South Korean causalities, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
South Korea's mass-circulation
Chosun Ilbonewspaper and other media reported that one North Korean officer was believed killed and three other sailors wounded. President Lee Myung-bak ordered his Defence Minister Kim Tae-young to strengthen military readiness.
Mr Kim told parliament that he believed the North may take retaliatory action. "The president also has such concerns," he said.
South Korea's 680,000-strong military was on heightened alert but detected no unusual North Korean troop movements, an officer at the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
Asked if US troops in South Korea had raised their alert level, David Oten, a spokesman for the US military in Seoul, said it does not comment on operational or security issues. The US stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea to deter possible North Korean aggression.
The officer, speaking on condition of anonymity citing department policy, said the heightened posture meant having troops stay vigilant but that there were no additional deployments in border areas. South Korean ships did routine patrols along the sea border Wednesday, he said.
AP