Asia 849
MID#2191
Dispute Number: 2191
Date(s): February 15, 1974 to July 20, 1974
Participants: 731 North Korea/732 South Korea
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: 1–25 deaths
Narrative: On the morning of February 15, 1974, a North Korean gunboat sank what
it claimed was a South Korean spy ship off the coast of Paengnyong, one of five
small islands in the Yellow Sea occupied by South Korea. North Korea had recently
asserted its territorial rights to the waters surrounding the islands but had not enforced
this claim until then. South Korea protested this attack and stated that the so-called
spy ship was simply a peaceful fishing vessel, with 12 crew missing and 13 captured.
Several months later, on June 28, a South Korean patrol vessel performing a routine
fisheries protection assignment off the coasts of the same islands was surrounded and
sunk by North Korean naval ships. Reciprocation from Seoul came on July 20 when
the South Korean Navy sunk a North Korean spy ship disguised as a fishing vessel,
after chasing it for two hours around the west coast of the country.
MID#1472
Dispute Number: 1472
Date(s): February 15, 1975 to September 1, 1975
Participants: 2 United States of America, 732 South Korea/731 North Korea
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: 1–25 deaths
Narrative: This dispute describes several actions between North and South Korea,
with the latter’s forces joined by the United States trying to deter North Korean
moves. The dispute began on February 15, 1975, when South Korea sunk a North
Korean naval vessel. Eleven days later American fighter planes joined South Korean
naval vessels south of the demarcation line. North Korea’s President Kim Il Sung
warned the United States to stay out of the area on April 20. US Secretary of State
Kissinger countered by warning North Korea not to test its military commitment to
defend South Korea on May 13. On June 2, North Korea charged that South Korea
had fired machine guns into a North Korean village, and on June 25, the North Kore-
ans attacked South Korea with tanks. The United Nations ended its military role in
Korea on June 29, and on October 30 adopted two contradictory resolutions in regard
to Korea, one Western and one communist. The dispute ended in stalemate but forced
South Korea to revise its policy and no longer rely on UN protection. South Korea
began seeking talks with North Korea, China, and the United States, but no talks were
forthcoming.
Coding changes: End Date changed from November 20, 1975.
MID#362
Dispute Number: 362
Date(s): June 19, 1976 to August 21, 1976