ANKARA

A North Korean merchant vessel briefly crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto maritime border, in the Yellow Sea on Friday, prompting the South Korean military to fire warning shots before the ship retreated, according to officials.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the vessel crossed near the South Korean border island of Baengnyeong early Friday and advanced as far as 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) south of the de facto maritime border, Yonhap News reported.

The ship remained in South Korean waters for about an hour.

South Korean forces, which had been tracking the vessel’s approach, issued repeated warning broadcasts. When the vessel crossed the NLL, a naval warship fired dozens of warning shots and shells before the North Korean ship turned westward and withdrew to the northern side of the maritime boundary.

A 2,800-ton South Korean Navy convoy was operating in the area at the time of the incident, according to the JCS.

"No unusual movement involving the North Korean military had been detected in connection with the incident as of Friday morning," said a JCS official. “We will firmly maintain our readiness posture and respond resolutely to any situation to safeguard the NLL.”

It was the first such breach in three years. In October 2022, a North Korean merchant ship crossed 3.3 kilometers south of the NLL before retreating after warning shots were fired.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid