The military and Coast Guard are again under scrutiny after a South Korean fishing boat crossed into North Korean waters recently.

The latest incident comes less than a month after a South Korean civil servant was shot to death by North Korean troops in the West Sea.
  
On Saturday, a South Korean vessel crossed the fishing boundary line, which is set some 18 kilometers south of the de facto inter-Korean sea border called the "Northern Limit Line" (NLL). The boat appears to have gone astray while navigating the area, but such incidents should have immediately alerted the Coast Guard which does not appear to have noticed it. 

Unchecked, the vessel went on to cross the NLL. 

Critics argue that the latest event is yet another sign of a lax maritime defense posture exposing the Coast Guard's incompetence.

Even though the military did spot the vessel on its surveillance radar, it was not quick enough to take responsive measures, such as restraining the boat from traveling further north.

Only two Vietnamese and one Chinese crewmen were on board the vessel without their Korean captain.