Emergency meeting held, motive unclear

SEOUL, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called an emergency high-level meeting Tuesday after clashes between South and North Korean ships now seen as accidental.

The two navies were engaged in brief but heavy firing off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula as an accident. However, South Korean Prime Minister Chung Un-chan later described the incident as an "accidental" clash, Yonhap news agency reported.

"Today's clash took place as the North Korean side disregarded our verbal warnings and warning shots and directly attacked our speedboats," Chung told a parliamentary session. "It was an accidental clash, so we ask the people to have confidence in our military and government and carry on with their daily lives as usual."

South Korean officials said their side suffered no casualties but a Navy official said the North Korean patrol boat retreated after apparently suffering "considerable" damage, the report said.

The incident comes ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama's scheduled visit to Seoul and other Asian capitals.

"It appears to be a move to raise tension ahead of Obama's visit to South Korea," Professor Yoo Ho-yeol at Seoul's Korea University told Yonhap. "North Koreans believe tension helps them strengthen their bargaining power."

However, Professor Ryu Gil-jae at the University of North Korean Studies said the North may have only wanted to test the South.

"North Korea would have test-fired missiles if it had wanted to vex the U.S.," he said. "The Yellow Sea clash is more of a message to the South that it should be taken more seriously."