A North Korean navy command spokesman said Seoul had recently sent more warships to waters near the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the disputed inter-Korean sea border.

"No one can vouch that these disturbing military developments will not spark off a new West Sea (Yellow Sea) skirmish as the South Korean authorities dared call for defending the 'northern limit line,'" the spokesman told the official Korean Central News Agency.

"The South Korean authorities should stop their rash acts, pondering over what countermeasures will be taken by the North side when they recklessly dispatch warships and helicopters to the controversial waters, a hotbed of fresh military clashes."

The NLL has served as a de-facto maritime border between South and North Korea since the 1950-53 Korean War, but the North has never recognized it.

Disputes over the NLL and its surrounding rich fishing grounds have led to two naval battles in recent years.

A naval skirmish on June 29, 2002, left six South Korean soldiers dead. In June 1999, a similar skirmish killed dozens of North Korean sailors.

Last year, South Korean warships fired warning shots at North Korean fishing boats which violated the maritime border.

WAR.WIRE