New rules permit navy to shoot first

South Korean military authorities issued new naval operations guidelines Tuesday, allowing the navy to shoot first, after as little as a single warning round, at enemy ships in South Korean waters, the National Defense Ministry and the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

The measure responds to public criticism that the previous operational strategy left Korean ships vulnerable and led to death and damage in Saturday's naval battle. Four South Koreans were killed, 19 were injured and another is missing. A navy speedboat was sunk.

Ahn Ki-Seok, a navy commodore at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed Tuesday that the new guidelines have been communicated to all naval operational units.

According to the new operations guidelines, the South Korean Army, Navy and Air Force will be alerted immediately upon detection of a violation of the Northern Limit Line extending west of the peninsula to form a sea boundary between the two Koreas. The first step for the navy will be blocking and pushing the intruder back north, without using guns; second is the firing of warning shots, followed by firing shots directly aimed at the enemy ship.

The guidelines in effect for Saturday's gun battle had two extra steps: A warning was to be broadcast before the blocking maneuver; and after initial warning shots, a second volley of shots was to be fired close enough to the intruder to show that it was in range of South Korean gunners. Firing aimed shots was the fifth step.

Under the new guidelines, the navy will no longer have to come near enemy ships to broadcast and block. Broadcasting often required the southern boats to close within a kilometer to ensure that the warning was audible. In Saturday's incident, the southern boat moved within close range of the North's patrol boat, becoming an easy target of the enemy guns that fired first.

The streamlined guidelines may make an inter-Korean sea skirmish more likely, the Joint Chiefs of Staff acknowledged. But they said South Korean military forces were prepared for joint operations. Combat cor-vettes and frigates, equipped with strong firepower including Harpoon ship-to-ship missiles, will support the speedboats on the front line, Army Lieutenant General Lee Sang-hee, chief operations officer for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, explained. Air Force fighters will patrol the northern sea border to interdict North Korean aerial support, and jet fighters with air-to-ship missiles will be ready to launch.

by Kim Min-seok