>From www.kcna.co.jp (a North Korean 'news' site in English), we find the NK
version of events:



Wed 1 Sept 1999
KPA will take decisive step for defence of sovereignty

    Pyongyang, September 1 (KCNA) -- A general officer-level meeting
between the Korean People's
Army and the U.S. forces sides was held in Panmunjom today to discuss the
matter of fixing the Military
Demarcation Line at the West Sea of Korea. 
    This meeting was proposed by the KPA side to finally confirm the U.S.
forces side's position before
adopting its decision as to the matter of fixing the maritime demarcation
line at the west sea. 
    In his speech Lieut. General Ri Chan Bok, chief delegate of the KPA
side, recalled the sincere efforts
made by the KPA side for a solution to this matter after the June 15
incident. 
    The KPA side put forward various specified proposals at the July 21
general officer-level meeting to
discuss the matter, out of its sincere desire and peaceloving stand to
prevent military conflicts at the West
Sea of Korea and ease the tense situation of the Korean peninsula. In
disregard of this good faith and
magnanimity, the U.S. forces side has been taking position and attitude
negative to the settlement of the
matter, he charged, and said: 
    Firstly, it has refused to discuss the matter itself. 
    At the meetings, the U.S. forces side argued that the matter should be
dealt with at the inter-Korean
joint military committee since the north-south agreement carries an article
related to maritime issues. This
argument means that the matters related to the MDL and the demilitarized
zone, too, should be discussed
at the committee since an article on them is contained in the agreement. 
    Such stand and attitude show that the U.S. forces side has given up its
commitment to implement the
Armistice Agreement and its duty as a signatory to the AA and denies the
general officer-level meeting
between the two sides itself. 
    Secondly, it seeks to maintain the "northern limit line" which has been
illegally set deep inside our
territorial waters. 
    The U.S. forces side raised "law of prescription" for the first time at
the August 17 meeting to insist on
the illegal "northern limit line." It is a far-fetched argument that can be
made by those ignorant of elementary
requirements of the international law. 
    The chief delegate of the KPA side said that the brigandish insistence
of the U.S. forces side on the
illegal "northern limit line" cannot be construed otherwise than an attempt
to continue military conflicts at the
west sea to attain its design to dominate the sea. He urged the U.S. forces
side to clearly answer whether it
has willingness to accept our proposal for working-level contact for fixing
a Military Demarcation Line at
the west sea. 
    However, Major General Michael Dunn, chief delegate of the U.S. forces
side, refused to accept our
offer for working-level contact, repeating its previous unjustifiable
argument that the matter must be
discussed at the "north-south dialogue" and that the "northern limit line"
must be observed. 
    Ri Chan Bok had this to say: 
    Now that the stand of the U.S. forces side has been clearly confirmed
through six rounds of general
officer-level meetings held so far, we will also make our own option. 
    The KPA side will never pardon the misbehaviour of the U.S. forces side
in infringing upon our
sovereignty after setting a line deep inside our territorial waters at
random. 
    The KPA will take a resolute and determined measure to defend waters
under our military control
according to the Armistice Agreement. 
***************************************************


Thu 2 Sept 1999:
Special communique of KPA general staff

    Pyongyang, September 2 (KCNA) -- The general staff of the Korean
People's Army today announced
a special communique "on proclamation of the Military Demarcation Line at
the West Sea of Korea."
    The special communique reads: 
    The unstable tense military situation persists on the Korean peninsula
in which a war may break out any
moment. 
    This situation has been getting more grave since the June 15 exchange
of fire at the West Sea of Korea. 
    Right after the west sea armed conflict we took initiatives to call six
rounds of DPRK-U.S. general
officer-level meetings, in order to prevent recurrence of conflicts in the
waters at issue and ease the tense
situation, and made every possible effort to this end. 
    Especially, we advanced a realistic proposal to define the Military
Demarcation Line at the west sea
through dialogues and contacts between the two responsible parties,
grasping the stark situation in which
the military conflicts at the west sea are mainly ascribable to the
different assertions of the two warring
sides as to the maritime demarcation line. 
    Meanwhile, we proposed to the U.S. forces side the detailed procedures
such as date and place of
working-level contact, number of participants and form of the contact, and
have made our sincere efforts
to realize it. 
    We also expressed our generous intention to allow the participation of
the South Korean puppets in the
contact, in consideration of their desire to take part in the discussion of
the matter, though they are not a
signatory to the Armistice Agreement. 
    If the U.S. forces side is interested in the relaxation of the military
tension on the Korean peninsula even
the least, it should respond to our proposal and our proposal on detailed
procedures on the working-level
contact. 
    The U.S. forces side, however, shunned the discussion of the issue in
contravention of the AA and
turned down our proposal on the working-level contact, leaving it to the
defunct north-south joint military
commission. It has craftily worked to maintain the "Northern Limit Line"
unilaterally fixed by it in our
territorial waters. 
    As known to the world, the "Northern Limit Line" is an illegal line
drawn by the U.S. forces side
unilaterally in our territorial waters in defiance of the Korean Armistice
Agreement and the international
law. 
    Its insistence on keeping the "Northern Limit Line" is as brigandish as
drawing a line in other's courtyard
by stealth and arguing that it is its own. 
    Accordingly, the U.S. forces side's insistence on keeping the "Northern
Limit Line" constitutes a grave
encroachment upon the sovereignty of our republic. 
    The behavior of the U.S. forces side to avoid the discussion of the
matter shows that it gave up by itself
its authority and duty under the Korean Armistice Agreement. 
    Under situation where the U.S. forces side is insisting on keeping the
illegal and brigandish "Northern
Limit Line," avoiding the discussion of the issue, although we intend to
settle the issue of Military
Demarcation Line at the west sea through negotiations, the KPA general
staff solemnly declares in defence
of inviolable waters under our military control as follows: 
    1. The Military Demarcation Line at the West Sea of Korea will be an
extension line of the provincial
boundary line (A-B) between Hwanghae-do and Kyonggi-do stipulated in the
Armistice Agreement. The
line links the point (37 degrees 18 minutes 30 seconds N, 125 degrees 31
minutes 00 second E)
equidistant from "A" point and Tongsan point, the tip of Kangryong
peninsula under the DPRK control,
and from Kul-op Island under the U.S. military control = the point (37
degrees 1 minute 12 seconds N,
124 degrees 55 minutes 00 second E) equidistant from Ong Island under the
DPRK control and from
Sogyokryolbi Island and Sohyop Island under the U.S. military control = the
point southeast of it (36
degrees 50 minutes 45 seconds N, 124 degrees 32 minutes 30 seconds E)= and
the maritime demarcation
line between the DPRK and China. The waters north of the line will be
waters under the KPA side's
military control. 
    2. We declare that the brigandish "Northern Limit Line" unilaterally
defined by the U.S. forces side
inside our territorial waters of the West Sea of Korea is invalid. 
    3. Our self-defensive right to the Military Demarcation Line at the
West Sea of Korea will be exercised
by various means and methods. 090201 - Kim Yong Sun meets delegates of S.
Korean Reunification
organizations    Pyongyang, September 2 (KCNA) -- Kim Yong Sun, chairman of
the Korean
Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, yesterday met and conversed with adviser Ra
Chang Sun, a delegate, and
So Won Chol, a youth delegate of the south headquarters of the National
Alliance for the Country's
Reunification (Pomminryon), Ri Song U, Pak Ki Su and Kang Hyong Gu,
delegates of the "National
Alliance for Democracy and Reunification," and Hwang Hye Ro, delegate of
the South Korean Federation
of University Student Councils (Hanchongryon) which represents the south
headquarters of the National
Alliance of Youth and Students for the Country's Reunification
(Pomchonghakryon). They had participated
in the grand pan-national pro-reunification festival. 
    Present there were An Kyong Ho, director of the secretariat of the
Committee for the Peaceful
Reunification of the Fatherland who is also vice-chairman of the north
headquarters of Pomminryon, Kim
In Ho, chairman of the north headquarters of Pomchonghakryon, and officials
concerned. 
    The talk took place in a warm compatriotic atmosphere. 
 *********************************************************************   



Fri Sept 3 1999:
Defunct "Northern Limit Line"

    Pyongyang, September 3 (KCNA) -- The United States has lost the
"Northern Limit Line" it set
waywardly as the Military Demarcation Line at the West Sea of Korea. 
    The general staff of the Korean People's Army announced a special
communique on Thursday, in which
it declared the "Northern Limit Line" invalid and fixed the MDL at the West
Sea of Korea. 
    According to it, the fixed demarcation line at the West Sea of Korea
runs from the point "A" of the
provincial boundary line (A-B) between Hwanghae-do and Kyonggi-do to the
maritime border line
between Korea and China, passing through the point (37 degrees 18 minutes
30 seconds N, 125 degrees
31 minutes 00 seconds E) equidistant from Tungsangot, the tip of Kangryong
peninsula under the DPRK
control, and Kulop Island under the U.S. military control = the point (37
degrees 1 minute 12 seconds N,
124 degrees 55 minutes 00 second E) equidistant from Ong Island under the
DPRK control and
Sogyokryolbi and Sohyop islands under the U.S. military control = and the
point southwest (36 degrees
50 minutes 45 seconds N, 124 degrees 32 minutes 30 seconds E). As a result,
the waters north of the line
have come under the KPA side's military control. 
    A grave armed conflict took place between the KPA and the South Korean
puppet army in the waters
of the west sea on June 15. 
    The conflict between the two sides brought about an unprecedented
tragedy of bloodshed that claimed
sinking of battleships and human losses. 
    The military conflicts were mainly ascribable to their different
assertion about the maritime demarcation
line. 
    The DPRK and the United States have had six rounds of general
officer-level meetings, two rounds of
colonel-level meetings and several contacts between staff officers so far
to prevent recurrence of conflicts
in the waters at issue and ease the tense situation. 
    At the meetings and contacts the KPA side proposed to fix the Military
Demarcation Line by extending
the provincial boundary line between Hwanghae-do and Kyonggi-do (A-B)
stipulated in paragraph 13, B
of the Korean Armistice Agreement. 
    On the contrary, the U.S. forces side insisted on the "Northern Limit
Line". 
    The "Northern Limit Line" is an illegal line that the U.S. forces side
unilaterally set deep inside the
DPRK territorial waters, disregarding the KAA and the international law. 
    The U.S. forces side's insistence on the "line" was an grave
encroachment upon the DPRK's sovereignty
and, after all, the meetings produced no results. 
    Thus, the KPA side could not but take its unilateral option. 
    The DPRK will exercise its right to defend the waters under its
military control. 
***************************************************************************



Sat Sept 4 1999
Legitimate self-defensive measure

    Pyongyang, September 4 (KCNA) -- The special communique on the
proclamation of the Military
Demarcation Line at the West Sea of Korea was announced by the general
staff of the Korean People's
Army. It is quite a legitimate self-defensive measure to ensure peace and
ease the tense situation in the
Korean peninsula and defend the dignity and sovereignty of the DPRK,
declares Rodong Sinmun in a
signed commentary today. 
    Stressing that the DPRK regards its dignity and sovereignty as life and
soul, the paper says the measure
demonstrated once again the revolutionary will of its people and army not
to allow any encroachment upon
its dignified sovereignty and inviolable territory and waters. 
    The people and army of the DPRK are fully supporting this step taken to
defend the legitimate territorial
waters under its military control, it says, and goes on: 
    The Military Demarcation Line at the West Sea of Korea has been defined
as a clear and unquestioned
one by the special communique of the KPA general staff. The U.S. forces
side has no ground whatsoever
to take issue with this most fair and aboveboard self-defensive measure of
the DPRK as it fully conforms
to the requirements of the Korean Armistice Agreement and the international
law. It is all the more
reasonable as the United States has refused so far to discuss the matters
related to fixing the maritime
demarcation line and given up its authority and duty under the KAA of its
own accord. 
    We reiterate that there is no other Military Demarcation Line at the
West Sea of Korea than the line we
proclaimed. 
    The South Korean rulers should stop an impudent argument about this
matter. 
    If the U.S. imperialists and the South Korean rulers again insist on
the "Northern Limit Line" to make a
challenge to the DPRK, they will entirely be blamed for all the
consequences arising therefrom. 
    Minju Joson in an editorial article hails the special communique of the
KPA general staff as a decisive
step for the firm defence of sovereignty. 
*******************************************************************


Brendan Whyte
University of Melbourne



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