At sea - Korea's disputed border

At sea - Korea's disputed border

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North and South Korea are divided at sea by the Northern Limit Line - a disputed maritime border that wraps itself round a part of the North’s coastline and has been the scene of frequent clashes between the two sides.

The line curves northwards, effectively isolating five remote, South Korean-controlled islands from the mainland. Life on these outposts is deeply marked by the old Korean conflict.

. Baengnyeong, South Korea. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

The blue dot on this mobile phone screen shows the device's position on the island of Baengnyeong.

The outcrop is one of several that lie just on the South Korean side of the Northern Limit Line (NLL) – an extension of the land border between the two Koreas that stretches into the sea, west of the Korean peninsula.

The marine border, drawn up at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, is not recognised by North Korea and continues to be a source of tension; in recent weeks, the North has conducted artillery drills near the contentious boundary.

. Yeonpyeong, South Korea. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Many Chinese fishing boats farm the waters on the North's side of the NLL, only to be occasionally moved on by patrol vessels from South Korea when they venture too close to the border.

In the image above, a South Korean corvette chases away fishing boats sailing under Chinese flags after they came too near to the invisible boundary by the island of Yeonpyeong.

Such minor incidents occur regularly and do not cause much consternation.

But deadly action has also occurred between the two Koreas at their de-facto border in the Yellow Sea.

Naval clashes, most notably in 1999 and 2002, led to the deaths of an unconfirmed number of sailors on both sides and in 2010 the North fired multiple shells onto Yeonpyeong, killing four people including two civilians.

. Baengnyeong, South Korea. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Local South Korean fishermen have seen the areas where they can ply their trade vastly restricted by the NLL.

Kim Ho-soon (pictured above) a 66-year-old woman who goes diving for seafood in the waters off Baengnyeong, is one of those who feels the effects.

Workers like her can only do their job when soldiers give them the all-clear. The restrictions are there in the name of safety, but many find them frustrating.

"North Korea doesn't bother us... [South Korean] military, China and reporters are ones that bother us," said Kim.

. Baengnyeong, South Korea. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Despite – or perhaps because of – the tension over the heavily militarised islands, they are also a magnet for tourists.

The beaches of Baengnyeong are often walled with barbed wire fences with intermittent holes for machine gun positions.

But in the image above a group of brightly dressed tourists add a splash of colour to the coastline.

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Slideshow

North Korean islands and ships sailing under Chinese flags are seen from a heavily fortified beach on Yeonpyeong.
. Yeonpyeong, South Korea. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

North Korean islands and ships sailing under Chinese flags are seen from a heavily fortified beach on Yeonpyeong.

A South Korean soldier uses binoculars to scan the sea from a watchtower on Yeonpyeong.
. Yeonpyeong, South Korea. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

A South Korean soldier uses binoculars to scan the sea from a watchtower on Yeonpyeong.

Anti-landing spikes, set up by the South Korean military, are seen during low tide on a beach on Baengnyeong.
. Baengnyeong, South Korea. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Anti-landing spikes, set up by the South Korean military, are seen during low tide on a beach on Baengnyeong.

South Korean soldiers walk past a barbed wire fortification.
. Baengnyeong, South Korea. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

South Korean soldiers walk past a barbed wire fortification.

A soldier walks toward a model plane, which one marine said was used by the South Korean army for target practice, on a beach on Yeonpyeong island.
. Yeonpyeong, South Korea. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

A soldier walks toward a model plane, which one marine said was used by the South Korean army for target practice, on a beach on Yeonpyeong island.

"Defectors Telephone" is written on a phone meant for possible North Korean defectors, on a wall at a heavily fortified beach.
. Baengnyeong, South Korea. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

"Defectors Telephone" is written on a phone meant for possible North Korean defectors, on a wall at a heavily fortified beach.

A South Korean marine makes a phone call before boarding a ferry to Yeonpyeong island.
. Yeonpyeong, South Korea. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

A South Korean marine makes a phone call before boarding a ferry to Yeonpyeong island.

South Korean marines sleep on the ferry to the mainland.
. Yeonpyeong, South Korea. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

South Korean marines sleep on the ferry to the mainland.

A man points towards a monument on the island of Baengnyeong commemorating soldiers who died on the naval ship Cheonan. The boat was hit by a torpedo and sunk in 2010, killing 46 on board. North Korea has denied blame.
. Baengnyeong, South Korea. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

A man points towards a monument on the island of Baengnyeong commemorating soldiers who died on the naval ship Cheonan. The boat was hit by a torpedo and sunk in 2010, killing 46 on board. North Korea has denied blame.

Elderly residents exercise on Yeonpyeong. Local officials have said that the island's population is ageing because there aren't enough jobs for those of working age, and the young often leave to go to college on the mainland.
. Yeonpyeong, South Korea. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Elderly residents exercise on Yeonpyeong. Local officials have said that the island's population is ageing because there aren't enough jobs for those of working age, and the young often leave to go to college on the mainland.

People are seen walking behind military positions on Sagot beach on the island of Baengnyeong.
. Baengnyeong, South Korea. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

People are seen walking behind military positions on Sagot beach on the island of Baengnyeong.

Fish hang from hooks in a small fishing port.
. Baengnyeong, South Korea. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Fish hang from hooks in a small fishing port.

Kim Ho-soon, a 66-year-old fisherwoman, adjusts her mask as she prepares to dive off the island of Baengnyeong.
. Baengnyeong, South Korea. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Kim Ho-soon, a 66-year-old fisherwoman, adjusts her mask as she prepares to dive off the island of Baengnyeong.

Visitors to the Yeonpyeong-do Security Education Centre watch a 3D movie about the 2010 assault on Yeonpyeong, when North Korea fired multiple shells onto the island.
. Yeonpyeong, South Korea. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Visitors to the Yeonpyeong-do Security Education Centre watch a 3D movie about the 2010 assault on Yeonpyeong, when North Korea fired multiple shells onto the island.

Fisherwoman Kim Ho-soon and her friend wait for the military to give them permission to sail into the sea off the island of Baengnyeong.
. Baengnyeong, South Korea. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Fisherwoman Kim Ho-soon and her friend wait for the military to give them permission to sail into the sea off the island of Baengnyeong.

Tourists drink a toast in a restaurant on Baengnyeong.
. Baengnyeong, South Korea. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Tourists drink a toast in a restaurant on Baengnyeong.

A pro-unification message is seen on a wall in a small fishermen's restaurant on the island.
. Baengnyeong, South Korea. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

A pro-unification message is seen on a wall in a small fishermen's restaurant on the island.

"A scene from the Cold War had played out before our eyes."
Damir Sagolj, Reuters Photographer

When an astronomer watches the stars, patch after patch of black nothingness pass before his lens until he is lucky enough to get a glimpse of, let’s say, a supernova exploding in the distance. Usually, that distance is measured by hundreds of light years, which means he is gazing into the remote past, seeing something that happened a long, long time ago.

On a hill on the South Koreas island of Yeonpyeong, which overlooks the Northern Limit Line that divides South and North Korea at sea, the feeling is the same.

The sea is vast but we were there with our gear at the ready. The thing we were expecting to happen – some sort of interaction between old enemies – was the relic of a very distant past. During many long hours of waiting, nothing really happened. We only saw about a dozen lazy Chinese ships on the North Korean side of the NLL, out fishing.

And then, on a fourth visit the hill, just before we quit our careers as amateur observers for good, a loud siren blasted from behind the beach. At first we thought something was happening on the island, some sort of emergency perhaps, but then two swift patrol boats appeared out of nowhere, speeding towards the Chinese vessels. Following them, a minute later, was a large South Korean corvette - we saw its big guns and soldiers on the deck.

We couldn’t believe it. Ships from the North Korean side had come too close, or even crossed the invisible boundary, and now the South Korean military was chasing them away. For a short moment we thought a real drama was unfolding before our eyes, something we better record as skillfully as possible because it might be breaking news. When we planned the trip, witnessing any sort of interaction between the two sides – be it radio contact, fishermen helping each other out at sea or even petty trade – was at the top of our wish list.

What we didn’t know, and what an experienced coast guard officer explained to us later that afternoon – his voice laced with irony – was that we got overexcited. In fact, such incidents are not really incidents; they happen almost every week. The South Korean military is always ready to protect its borders, and whenever it decides ships from the other side have come too close it simply chases them away.

Nevertheless, we got our supernova and a dose of adrenaline. It was a timely reminder that we were indeed deep inside “enemy territory” and that the situation could escalate at any moment.

A scene from the Cold War had played out before our eyes. Not many places in the world can offer you the chance to gaze into the past from a tourist observation point.

Working by the NLL is no smooth trip through time, however. Sometimes it feels like the machine malfunctions, and you are left in limbo between a faded past and a colorful and futuristic present.

This is, thanks for asking, a challenge for any photographer like me trying to put together a coherent sequence of pictures, without giving the impression that I have mixed up two different series of images.

Looking north through razor wire on Yeonpyeong showed me a scene like so many others I have witnessed during my professional life: heavily armed borders, the presence of “us and them”, threats and obvious suffering … It seemed as if some outside force – some photo-shopper in the sky, perhaps – had dimmed all the colors.

But I felt comfortable, I know this situation so well. I like it and I hate it. As I framed my shot, I was almost tempted to capture the scene in a way that would deprive it of life even further, adding more salt to the wound.

But that was just for one short and depressing moment. We listened to a North Korean radio station (the signal is not jammed here, as it is in Seoul) and we almost took pleasure in the sounds we could hear, broadcast from not all that far away. The voice of a news anchor announced that the supreme leader visited another factory and gave famous “on the spot instructions” followed by revolutionary songs from what should be history. We enjoyed hearing it, in a bizarre and almost shameful way.

My relationship with totalitarianism and communism is a weird mixture of well-known painful fact and nostalgia about my late homeland Yugoslavia, my years during Perestroika in the Soviet Union and some wonderful moments I spent in Iran.

But when I witness these societies, I am often the privileged one looking at them from outside. The feeling I have here is the feeling of the reporter with a return ticket in his back pocket, who has covered disasters and wars, but can walk away any time.