YEONPYEONG, South Korea " Chinese fishing boats were pulling out of the Yellow Sea possibly because of fears of military clashes between the Koreas, a media report said today, a day after North Korea renounced a truce keeping the peace on the peninsula.
It was not clear if the vessels " in the area for the crabbing season " were directed by the North to leave or if they were doing so of their own volition.
The disputed waters off the Koreas' western coast were the site of two deadly clashes during previous times of high tension in 1999 and 2002. Tensions were high again this week after the North conducted its second nuclear test, fired several short-range missiles and then announced the 1953 truce that ended the Korean War was void.
About a dozen Chinese ships could be seen pulling out of port from Yeonpyeong, the closest South Korean island to the North, and heading elsewhere, the Yonhap news agency reported. The agency said that more than 280 Chinese vessels were fishing in the area earlier this week, but the number has dropped to about 140.
North Korea, whose 1.2-million strong military is one of the world's largest, says that it is merely preparing to defend itself against what it says are plans by the United States to launch a pre-emptive strike to overthrow its communist government.
It has been especially critical of Washington's decision to deploy a squadron of F-22 fighter jets " the most advanced in the Air Force " to the southern Japan island of Okinawa. The 12 fighters are to arrive on Okinawa on Saturday, according to a statement issued by Kadena Air Base.
The United States has repeatedly denied any intention to attack North Korea. The four-month F-22 deployment had been planned well before Monday's test.
In Washington, the Army's top officer, Gen. George Casey, expressed confidence that the U.S. could fight a conventional war against North Korea if necessary, despite continuing conflicts elsewhere.
But U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who is traveling to Singapore for regional defense talks, tried to lower the temperature.
"I don't think that anybody in the (Obama) administration thinks there is a crisis," Gates told reporters aboard his military jet early this morning.
Gates said there was no need at the moment to bring in any additional troops.
Meanwhile, talks at the United Nations Security Council over possible sanctions for the nuclear test were moving forward slowly.
Russia's U.N. ambassador said Thursday there was wide agreement among key world powers on what a new U.N. resolution should include but said putting the elements together will take time because the issues are "complicated."
A list of proposals was sent Wednesday to the five permanent veto-wielding council members " the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France " and the two countries most closely affected by the nuclear test, Japan and South Korea.
Diplomats said a draft of the proposed resolution is not expected to be circulated until next week.
The two Koreas technically remain at war because they signed a truce, not a peace treaty, in 1953. North Korea disputes the U.N.-drawn maritime border off their west coast.
Pyongyang has positioned artillery guns along the west coast on its side of the border, Yonhap said. The Joint Chiefs of Staffs in Seoul refused to confirm the report.