North Korean Threats Worry Island Fishermen

Islanders living near the border of North and South Korea worry about the North's nuclear test and missile firing. Local fishermen are seeing the disruption of prime seasonal crabbing as naval vessels navigate the nearby waters.

Crab fishermen on this small island are supposed to enjoy the season’s haul that makes the most of their annual income.

Their fishing grounds are watched over by North Korean artillery.

But this season, the fragile situation on the Korean peninsular caused by the North’s defiance, has them worrying about their security and losing out on the best crabs.

Yeonpyong Island lies off the west coast of the Korean peninsula in the Yellow Sea waters claimed by the North.

But the South has occupied that area of the ocean since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

The North has warned that another deadly naval battle could happen soon in what is one of the last major flashpoints from the Cold War.

South Korea announced on Tuesday the 26th it was joining a U.S.-lead naval exercise called the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) after the North conducted a nuclear test on Monday the 25th.

Previous naval clashes in the area in 1999 and 2002 were in June.

That’s at the peak of the three-month-long crab season when fishing fleets jockey for the best spots near the contested maritime border.

[Moon Woon-sik, Fisherman]:
"We'll never know if there will be another naval battle in the Yellow Sea. But it's not going to be solved if I worry a lot. All we need is more fishing."

But it may take a while before the fishermen can breathe more easily.

The U.N. Security Council has agreed in principle that North Korea must face sanctions for defying a 2006 U.N. resolution.