The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Sunday that the Republic of Korea (ROK) had staged a surprise attack on its navy to provoke a response, damage Pyongyang's image and undermining already strained relations during soccer's World Cup.
Earlier, ROK President Kim Dae-jung pledged to enhance the South's defences after the DPRK sank a patrol boat on Saturday, killing four ROK sailors.
Official news source of the North, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted a navy spokesman as saying the South's demand for an apology was "the height of impudence."
KCNA said the South had "mounted a surprise attack."
The South said two DPRK patrol ships sailed over their disputed sea border and fired on its boats, killing four and wounding 19 ROK sailors.
The DPRK, which does not recognize the sea border, accused the South of "grave provocation."
It was the worst clash in three years and a reminder that the peninsula remains a potential flashpoint half a century after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not with a peace treaty.
The United States condemned what it called an "armed provocation" by the DPRK and a senior US official said it could prompt a delay in a key US visit to Pyongyang which Washington proposed less than 24 hours before the clash.
The US commander in the ROK, General Leon LaPorte, said he had called for a rare general-level border meeting with the DPRK military to discuss Saturday's naval clash.
A US military spokeswoman said the North had responded and the details of a possible meeting were being worked out.
China and Russia urged the two sides to show restraint and keep talking.
China hopes that the relevant parties would make efforts to safeguard stability on the peninsula, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said in response to a request for comments.
In another development,the Korean Football Association of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea sent a letter of congratulations yesterday to its counterpart in the ROK on the success of the ROK team in the 17th World Cup.
The letter compared the victory of the ROK team to that of the DPRK squad in the 1966 World Cup in London where the latter beat Italy to enter the quarter-finals. The ROK came fourth finally, an unprecedented success for any Asian team.
(China Daily July 1, 2002)
