中國網站品牌欄目（頻道）
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) declared waters along its disputed sea border with the Republic of Korea (ROK) a "firing zone" yesterday and warned ROK ships to stay away from the area, which was the scene of a deadly clash last month.
The naval command in Pyongyang accused Seoul of "reckless military provocations" in the area in an attempt to hold on to what it called an illegal border. It accused its neighbor of violating its waters and staging military drills in the area and vowed to protect its border by force.
Pyongyang does not recognize the sea border, drawn unilaterally by the United Nations at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, and has long claimed that it should be redrawn farther south. The dispute led to deadly skirmishes in 1999, 2002 and last month.
In the November incident, ships from the two sides exchanged fire in the disputed waters, leaving one DPRK sailor dead and three others wounded, according to Seoul.
Pyongyang said yesterday that it was designating the area a "peacetime naval firing zone of coastal and island artillery units" for its military, which apparently means that artillery shells could land in the waters at any time.
"All fishing boats and warships are required to take security measures by themselves in that zone to protect themselves," the naval command said in a statement, carried by the country's official Korean Central News Agency.
It said it was taking the measure to cope with a "grave situation" in the disputed waters that it blamed the ROK for creating.
Seoul rejected the claim of border violations as groundless.
"We consider it deeply regrettable that (DPRK's) naval command made unreasonable claims threatening our warships and boats that operate normally in our area," the ROK's navy said in a statement. "We are fully ready to defend the maritime demarcation line."
Questions:
1. When was the Korean war?
2. How many sailors died in last month’s skirmish?
3. In what years were the other incidents?
Answers:
1. 1950-53.
2. One.
3. 1999 and 2002.
（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）
About the broadcaster:
Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.
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