SEOUL — The South Korean military announced on Wednesday its intention to award units and soldiers involved in a recent operation to detect and track a North Korean boat, which had approached the eastern maritime border, amidst ongoing criticism regarding potential security lapses.
According to Yonhap News Agency, an official statement, the incident occurred on October 24 when a 7.5-meter-long wooden boat, carrying four North Korean individuals, crossed the de facto maritime border in the East Sea, seemingly in an effort to defect to South Korea. The military reported that its coastal units initially detected the small boat using thermal observation devices and radars during the predawn hours. However, the incident has since sparked discussions and concerns over possible shortcomings in the military's maritime surveillance capabilities. This criticism comes particularly as the military only towed the boat away after a local fisherman reported its presence later in the morning.
Despite these concerns, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) have decided to recognize the efforts of four units responsible for front-line coastal areas and 15 service members who played a role in initially identifying and tracking the small boat. The military emphasized that the awards are in acknowledgment of their fulfillment of duties under challenging operational conditions. “We have selected units and service members who contributed to the operation of identifying, tracking, and monitoring the small North Korean wooden boat," stated the JCS in a formal release.
This event marks the first instance since November 2019 that a group of North Koreans has attempted to defect to South Korea via a vessel in the East Sea. The South Korean military also intercepted a North Korean fishing boat carrying defectors in the Yellow Sea, crossing the western Northern Limit Line (NLL), back in May.