Pyongyang's 'Emissaries' Back Off

North Korean vessels, some of which paraded through South Korean waters for three days beginning Saturday, seemed to be taking pains Tuesday to avoid more intrusions.

The Daehongdan, a North Korean cargo ship, which sailed through South Korean waters in the Yellow Sea and the Cheju Strait Monday afternoon, moved into the open sea early Tuesday morning after the South Korean navy announced it could not allow its passage through the strait. Tuesday afternoon, the Cheongcheongang, which had left Hokkaido in Japan and was headed toward the Cheju Strait, also changed course, and the Guksabong 1, which was approaching South Korean waters near Tokto Island, also changed course.

Hwang Eui-don, a Defense Ministry spokesman, speculated that the warning by Defense Minister Kim Dong-shin at the National Assembly Monday and the decisions made by the National Security Council Sunday had swayed Pyongyang. Mr. Kim said Monday, "If a similar incident recurs without advance notice and permission request, we will sternly confront the North." The council decided to consider allowing North Korean vessels passage through South Korean waters and the Northern Limit Line if they have advance permission from Seoul.

The Daehongdan's master reportedly said by radio when entering the Cheju Strait, "Let us set procedures in the future," and promised not to intrude into South Korean waters again.

The Daehongdan was accompanied by nine Korean Navy ships when it moved out of the strait.

Seoul's reaction to the intrusions was mild compared with measures the military could have taken according to the rules of engagement of the United Nations Command － warn, fire warning shots and arrest the vessel.

Responses to the recent incident were mixed. While some analysts noted that the North has in effect won the right for its commercial ships to take shortcuts through South Korean waters, others contended that the provocation had in the end harmed the "sunshine policy" of engaging the North pursued by President Kim Dae-jung.

Criticism is mounting that the South is responding too leniently and that the North is being provocative instead of appreciative of aid from the South. The final shipment of a promised 200,000 tons of fertilizer donated to the North left a South Korean port Tuesday.

"If criticism toward the cooperative and reconciliatory policies evolves into opposition toward support to the North, it would definitely not be advantageous to the North," an official at the Ministry of Unification said.

"It is our strategic principle not to fire on ships in the Cheju Strait, where the right of innocent passage is acknowledged, unless an emergency situation arises," a Defense Ministry official said.

by Ahn Sung-kyoo