"South Korea captures suspected North Korean sub"
cnn.com
June 22, 1998
Web posted at: 11:22 a.m. EDT (1522 GMT)
SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- The South Korean navy on Monday captured and towed a suspected North Korean submarine that apparently became entangled in a fishing net off the eastern coast.
The vessel was seized in the area where a North Korean submarine ran aground in 1996 -- an incident that led to the deaths of most crew members and severely affected inter-Korean relations.
In Monday's incident, the submarine was discovered partially submerged about 11.5 miles (18.5 km) from Sokcho, a coastal town just south of the North Korean border, Defense Ministry spokesman Park In-yong said.
"There are no signs which identify it by country," he said. "But it could be a North Korean submarine as it is not a South Korean or U.S. submarine."
An unidentified government spokesman told The Associated Press that "the Joint Chiefs of Staff believes that the boat belongs to North Korea."
The South Korean navy towed the submarine to shore, according to South Korean television.
The country's national news agency, Yonhap, reported that the vessel was a 70-ton Yugo-class submarine, which normally carries four to five crewmen. North Korea is believed to have several such vessels.
Yonhap also said that the submarine's propeller got caught in a fish net that had been set to drift from a South Korean fishing boat. That boat spotted the entangled craft and then radioed maritime police and the military.
Crew members on the fishing vessel said several men were seen moving about on the deck of the submarine, apparently trying to free their vessel.
Soldiers board a North Korean submarine marooned off the coast of South Korea in 1996
Monday's incident occurred close to where a North Korean submarine ran aground in Kangnung in September 1996, leading to the deaths of 24 of its crew members in an incident that chilled relations between the two Koreas.
South Korean officials said that submarine hit a reef and ran aground while approaching the eastern coast to pick up three agents dropped off a day earlier.
North Korea says the submarine, much larger than the one stranded on Monday, drifted into southern waters by accident.
Five South Korean soldiers and three civilians were killed in the hunt for the infiltrators. Eleven of the dead submarine crew were found together, killed either in a group suicide or possibly by their fellow crewmen.
The latest incident comes at a time when ties between the two Koreas were taking a slight turn for the better.
On Tuesday, officials from North Korea and the United Nations Command were scheduled to hold their first "general-level" meeting in seven years in the truce village of Panmunjom. |
