Shootout at sea erupts off Korean Peninsula
Both sides claimed victory after the skirmish on the high seas. Each blamed the other for starting the shootout and both demanded an apology, AP and Reuters reported.
There were no reports of casualties.
After the encounter, ROK military officials claimed the DPRK ship was heavily damaged before it retreated.
The DPRK issued a statement blaming the ROK for "grave armed provocation". It said ROK ships crossed into the DPRK's territorial waters.
Pyongyang said a group of ROK warships had opened fire on its vessel before fleeing after the DPRK patrol boat struck back with "a prompt retaliatory blow".
The statement out of Pyongyang, which was carried on the official Korean Central News Agency, called on Seoul to apologize.
Analysts from the ROK claimed that the DPRK was being provocative.
However, observers dismissed the idea, pointing out that Pyongyang did not need to resort to such tactics after having conducted nuclear testing in May and several missile tests after that which would have got the attention the country wanted.
In Seoul, the ROK's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that a DPRK patrol boat crossed the disputed western sea border at around 11:27 am (10:27 Beijing Time), drawing warning shots from an ROK navy vessel. The statement said the DPRK boat opened fire and the ROK ship returned shots before the DPRK vessel returned to its waters.
The exchange of fire happened near the island of Daecheong, which is about 220 km from the port city of Incheon, west of Seoul, the statement said.
The clash erupted as United States officials said President Barack Obama had decided to send a special envoy to Pyongyang for rare direct talks about the country's nuclear weapons program. If the talks happen, they would be the first such negotiations since Obama took office in January.
The DPRK and ROK have fought deadly skirmishes along the western sea border in the past - in 1999 and 2002.
The number of DPRK casualties from past conflicts has not been made public. The ROK said none of its sailors were killed in 1999, but it said six died in the shootout in 2002; Kazinform cites China Daily.
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