S, Korea expects N. Korea coast incident

SEOUL, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- South Korea Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee warned his troops Thursday to be ready for possible conflict with North Korea over a coastal dispute.

The central dispute appeared to be near the Northern Limit Line, or N.L.L., drawn on the Yellow Sea unilaterally by U.S.-led U.N. forces at the end of the Korean War. It is here, Lee told the Second Fleet in Pyeongtaek, that North Korea would likely do something provocative, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

North Korea's naval boats often infringe the N.L.L. in hopes of replacing it with another border further south, Yonhap reported. Naval skirmishes occurred in 1999 and 2002.