Navy Staff Sgt. Hwang Chan-kyu thought a North Korean warship in South Korean waters would withdraw like other communist ships violating the poorly marked maritime border.
As his patrol boat was about to depart after issuing warning from its loudspeaker, the North Korean boat suddenly opened fire. His ship took a direct hit, killing four crewmen and wounding 19 others. One was missing.
In an interview broadcast today, Mr Hwang gave his account from a military hospital bed in Seoul of the clash on the previous day, the worst between the Koreas in three years.
"I could see the number '608' on the North Korean ship and thought the distance was pretty close," Mr Hwang told KBS-TV, a South Korean television news station.
"All of a sudden, I saw a glint of bright light from the enemy ship and a moment later, our ship was ablaze," said Mr Hwang, who suffered minor shrapnel wounds and had a bandage around his head.
The 21-minute confrontation in the Yellow Sea is the worst border clash in recent years on the world's last Cold War frontier and killed four sailors and wounded 19. It dealt a new blow to Korean reconciliation efforts and embarrassed the South during its moment in the sun as host to the World Cup soccer tournament.
"The military provocation of pre-emptive firing by a North Korean navy patrol ship is a clear violation of the armistice and an act that raises tension on the Korean peninsula. We cannot keep silent," said South Korean President Kim Dae-jung.
The Korean sea border is not clearly marked, prompting the two sides to lay conflicting claims to waters. But North Korean ships that violated the border usually retreated when challenged by South Korean military ships.
AP