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US warns DPRK, ROK against further military conflicts

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-11-11 01:44

WASHINGTON: The United States is hopeful that there will be no escalation of military conflict between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) after their clashes off the west coast of the peninsula, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Tuesday.

Related readings:  DPRK demands South Korea apologize for clash  S Korea, DPRK clash in naval coast off west coast: Yonhap  Obama administration would talk to DPRK

"I would say to the North Koreans that we hope that there will be no further actions in the Yellow Sea that could be seen as an escalation," Gibbs was quoted by the local media as saying aboard Air Force One as President Barack Obama headed for Texas.

The ROK Navy fired warning shots on Tuesday morning when one DPRK patrol ship crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL), which the ROK claims is a de-facto inter-Korean border.

The DPRK vessel responded by firing shots aimed directly at the ROK vessels, according to the ROK military. No casualties were immediately available. The two sides blamed each other for the clash.