Reported crossings of North Korean ships over the inter-Korean maritime border in the Yellow Sea have significantly declined this year.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a report submitted to the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee’s Song Young-sun that North Korean patrol ships and fishing vessels have crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) a total of 16 times. This is around one-sixth of last year's total crossings.

North Korean ships traversed the NLL an average of 24 times between 2006 and 2008, but the number surged to 50 times in 2009 and to 95 times in 2010, the highest figure yet.