North Korea Kidnaps South Korean Fishermen In Sea Of Japan

From ROK Drop:

By GI Korea on August 8th, 2010 at 8:25 pm


North Korea Kidnaps South Korean Fishermen In the Sea of Japan

» by GI Korea in: North Korea

As I have been saying the North Koreans were going to respond in some way to the naval drills being held by the US and the South Korean navies and now they have decided to play the old kidnapping card:







A South Korean fishing boat in the Sea of Japan and its seven crew members are being held by North Korea, according to reports in South Korea.



North Korean state media is reporting that the crew was “detained.”



There are few details which have emerged from the incident; but it comes amid mounting tensions following the March sinking of a South Korean warship. Forty-six sailors died, and South Korea blamed it on a North Korean submarine attack. The North calls the accusation “a fabrication.”



The incident comes after South Korea’s military carried out five days of military exercises in the Yellow Sea. The South Korean navy, army, air force and marines are practicing techniques for detecting and evading North Korean submarines and guided missiles, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported Saturday. The exercise involved 20 ships and 4,500 troops, according to Yonhap. [CNN]



The fact that the North Koreans had to turn to petty kidnapping as a response seems pretty pathetic and desperate to me. Look for the North Koreans to claim that the fishermen entered into North Korean waters and try their best to ransom them off. Interestingly three of the seven fishermen are Chinese nationals so it will be interesting to see what happens to them.