Naval skirmish off Koreas raises tension before Obama's visit

TOKYO — A brief naval skirmish that erupted Tuesday between North Korea and South Korea has raised tension in the region just as President Obama prepares this week for a visit there.

The North and South blamed each other for the exchange of gunfire — the first such clash in seven years. South Korean officials said a badly damaged North Korean patrol ship retreated in flames after crossing into South Korean waters.

It was not clear whether there were any injuries or deaths aboard the North Korean vessel. North Korea issued a statement that blamed the South for "grave armed provocation," claiming that ships from South Korea crossed into its territory. There were no South Korean casualties.

North Korea has complained for decades about the sea border, known as the Northern Limit Line, which was drawn by the U.S. military at the end of fighting in the Korean War in 1953. There have been two previous skirmishes in the region, with North Korea's aging naval ships taking a pounding from South Korea's far more modern and better armed vessels.

Tuesday's incident appeared unlikely to break the momentum of recent moves by both Koreas and the United States to improve relations, which had badly deteriorated earlier this year after the North tested a nuclear device, launched a flurry of missiles and repeatedly threatened "all-out war."

Still, in Washington, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs warned North Korea, "We hope that there will be no further actions in the Yellow Sea that could be seen as an escalation."

On Monday, administration officials said that Obama has decided to send a special envoy to North Korea for direct talks on the North's nuclear-weapons program. No date has been set, but it would be the first one-on-one talks since Obama took office in January.

Obama is expected to visit Seoul next week, as part of a 10-day Asia trip.

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young told lawmakers in Seoul on Tuesday that after the naval skirmish "no additional moves" by the North Korean military were detected.

Analysts in Seoul told reporters that North Korea may have started the skirmish to make sure Obama does not ignore the country during his first visit as president to the region.

"North Koreans believe tension helps them strengthen their bargaining power," Yoo Ho-yeol, a professor at Korea University in Seoul told the Yonhap news agency.