Breaking News:
SEOUL, Jan 27 (Reuters) – North and South Korea on early Wednesday morning exchanged fire near a disputed sea border off the west coast of the peninsula.
Two ships in the area were apparently hit, one limped back to North Korea with fires visible on the decks, the other returned to port in the south, riddled with shell fragments. South Korea has called a meeting of top national security officials.
North Korea on Tuesday declared a no-sail zone in the Yellow Sea waters in a sign that it might fire artillery or short-range missiles, media reports said.
South Korea’s office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff could not immediately confirm the reports. The area is near a contested sea border between the rival Koreas that was the site of a brief naval clash in November between the states, which are technically still at war.