Seoul setting up reefs in fight against Chinese fishing

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL (AA) – South Korea announced another major move Monday to stop Chinese fishermen from illegally entering waters west of the Korean Peninsula, as 80 artificial reefs are to be positioned close to the maritime border with North Korea.

After years of struggling to deal with encroaching vessels, the South teamed up with the United Nations Command last month to launch an unprecedented mission in the highly regulated territory where the Han River spills out between the Koreas.

Around 8 billion won (almost $7 million) will be invested to install the 30-ton reefs near the de facto border with the North, which Seoul refers to as the Northern Limit Line (NLL) -- according to South Korea's finance ministry.

Local news agency Yonhap reported that the plan was approved in a Cabinet meeting, although the exact placement of the reefs is yet to be decided.

South Korean fishermen have reportedly seen their seasonal crab catch drop by around 70 percent this year.

While holding regular talks with Seoul, Beijing's official stance has been to offer education to its fishermen.

But the volume of Chinese vessels illegally fishing has prompted suspicions among officials in the South that North Korea may have sold rights.

The NLL is extremely tense at the best of times -- Pyongyang does not recognize the demarcation line and numerous deadly battles have occurred off the western coast since the 1950-53 Korean War.