By EVAN RAMSTAD

SEOUL — A South Korean naval patrol boat inflicted heavy damage on a North Korean military vessel in an exchange of gunfire Tuesday morning near the countries’ maritime border in the Yellow Sea, the first violence during a year in which North Korea has repeatedly agitated the South and other countries.

South Koreans launch thousands of leaflets, attached to balloons, over the border into North Korea denouncing political prison camps. They want President Barack Obama to speak out against those abuses during his visit, not just Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions. Video courtesy of Reuters.

By Tuesday evening, there were no signs the incident was likely to escalate into more fighting, though the two countries gave different accounts of what happened and verbally protested to each other.

South Korea President Lee Myung-bak, after a meeting with security advisers, directed the military be firm but calm and not let the situation worsen, his office said. Prime Minister Chung Un-chan said the North Korean boat made a “direct attack” on the South Korean vessel but that the skirmish may also have been “accidental.”

North Korea, in a statement by its state media, demanded an apology for the incident, which it called a provocation by South Korea.

The episode occurred just nine days before U.S. President Barack Obama makes his first visit to South Korea, where he’ll discuss the North Korean situation with Mr. Lee. The U.S. is planning to send North Korean envoy Stephen Bosworth to Pyongyang later this month or next month to discuss drawing the North back to the aid-for-disarmament process that also involves China, Japan and Russia.

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[Lee Ki-Sik of the South Korean joint chiefs of staff

The gunfight lasted about two minutes and marked the first time in seven years the two navies fired on each other. South Korea said it counted 15 bullet holes on its damaged vessel. No casualties were reported by either country.  READ MORE

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