South Korean Ship Hits North Korean Boat

A South Korean vessel and a North Korean fishing boat collided off the Korean peninsula's east coast early on Tuesday, leaving two North Koreans missing, a South Korean military official said.

The accident comes as ties have turned chilly in recent months between the states technically still at war and who keep more than 1 million troops near their border.

The South Korean vessel was carrying sand from the North when it collided with the fishing boat at around 2 a.m. (1700 GMT) near a North Korean port, the official with the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

"This is an accident, and we expect to follow appropriate procedures under international rules," a South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman said at a news briefing.

The cause of the accident, which took place in North Korean waters, has yet to be determined, the spokesman said. Two other North Korean fishermen were also knocked overboard but they were rescued by the crew of the South Korean vessel.

South Korea has been dredging off North Korea's coast for several years with the cooperation of the communist state.

The accident took place not far from a South Korean-run mountain resort on North Korea's east coast.

Last month, a North Korean soldier shot dead a 53-year-old South Korean housewife vacationing at the resort after she wandered into a sparsely fenced military area. The incident has led to a war of words and has further frayed ties.

North Korea has called President Lee Myung-bak, who took office in February, a traitor and threatened to cut off dialogue in anger at his tough line toward Pyongyang.

Lee has pledged to cut the free flow of aid North Korea had seen under his predecessors and tie Seoul's largesse to progress the impoverished North makes in nuclear disarmament.