Tokyo - North Korea said yesterday that several South Korean warships intruded into its territorial waters off the west coast and urged the South to stop "reckless provocations". Seoul denied the claim.
The North Korean navy said in a statement that South Korean warships had intruded into northern waters several times during the day. In the statement North Korea accused Seoul of creating a touch-and-go situation in the region. Last Tuesday, South Korea said it sank one North Korean gunboat and heavily damaged several others in their first naval clash in the Yellow Sea since the 1950-1953 Korean War.
Meanwhile, North Korea detained a South Korean tourist because she allegedly tried to encourage a North Korean guide to defect to the South, the Southern Unification Ministry said.