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Unification minister hints at possible shift in North Korea’s attitude toward Northern Limit Line

Posted on : 2018-05-07 17:10 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Minister Cho Myung-gyon emphasizes the NLL will remain in place until peace agreement is signed
Northern Limit Line (NLL) and North Korea‘s claim of
Northern Limit Line (NLL) and North Korea‘s claim of "West Sea Security Line"

“There could be a change in North Korea’s attitude toward the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West Sea.”

Minister of Unification Cho Myung-gyon hinted at a possible shift in North Korea’s refusal to recognize the NLL as a maritime division between South and North Korea following a May 5 visit to Yeonpyeong Island with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, National Defense, and Oceans and Fisheries.

His remarks are drawing attention as expressing hope for Pyongyang to adopt a different approach from the past on the debate over the baseline issue, which has been cited as a potential powder keg in connection with the South and North Korean leaders’ agreement in their Apr. 27 Panmunjeom Declaration to designate a “maritime peace zone” in the West Sea.

“Whether it’s an inter-Korean joint fishing zone or maritime peace zone, we are not changing the Northern Limit Line,” Cho said.

“It would be one thing if inter-Korean relations transform completely and we sign a peace agreement, but we are not touching the NLL before that,” he added.

“This was something agreed upon in the 1992 Inter-Korean Basic Agreement,” he noted. “We are not doing anything with the NLL until it is discussed again.”

During his visit to Baengnyeong Island, Cho said, “The NLL will be maintained as it is while we hold negotiations with the North.”

Taken together, Cho’s remarks suggest that while issue of redefining the NLL may be come up during the replacement of the current armistice agreement with a peace agreement, the line will remain unchanged during prior efforts to establish a maritime peace zone, with the expectation that North Korea might change its stance and accept this approach. At the same time, he appears to have left open the possibility for NLL discussions while establishing a peace agreement as an institutional reflection of the Korean Peninsula peace regime.

North Korea has refused to acknowledge NLL as maritime border in past

North Korea has historically refused to acknowledge the NLL as a maritime border. In their Oct. 4 Declaration in 2007, South and North Korea agreed to establish a joint fishing zone and maritime peace zone around the NLL, but ran into repeated disagreements after North Korea refused to recognize the NLL as a baseline. At the time, the South proposed establishing a joint fishing zone with equal areas on the South and North Korean sides of the NLL, while the North favored designating the waters between the NLL and its own “West Sea security line.” The West Sea security line in question runs along the southern side of the NLL before rising up from below Yeonpyeong and Baengnyeong Islands.

Seoul is seen as very likely to once again propose creating a peace zone using the NLL as a baseline, with equal areas to its north and south. To do otherwise would leave it open to political attacks for “giving away” the NLL.

“After the October 4 Declaration, there was a plan for creating an [inter-Korean] joint fishing zone, which I was in charge of at the time,” Cho said. “With the future negotiations, I plan to develop a new plan, consulting the old one while reflecting the changes since then,” he continued.

Specific details on the establishment of a maritime peace zone around the NLL are expected to be discussed at inter-Korean military talks, which appear likely to take place during the month.

So far, North Korea has given no official signal of recognizing the NLL. The only notable development came in reports by North Korea’s state-run news outlets the day after the Panmunjeom Declaration, which quoted the text’s reference to the “Northern Limit Line” unchanged.


“There was a lot of debate after the October 4 Declaration in discussions on the baseline for a joint fishing zone, but there was some success in bridging the gap in the final stages through adjustments to the equal area,” said a source familiar with the October 4 Declaration and subsequent NLL debate.

“With North Korea adopting a new strategy of focusing its full energies on building the economy and attempting to negotiate denuclearization with the US, I don’t expect there’s going to be an argument over that kind of petty difference,” the source suggested.

By Yoo Kang-moon, senior staff writer, and Kim Ji-eun, staff reporter

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]



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