Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok on Sunday pledged to push for an inter-Korean fish sale system under which South Korean fishermen pay for fish from their North Korean counterparts, and sell them here and elsewhere.

The move came as South Korean fishermen have continuously suffered from income losses due to Chinese fishermen illegally operating in South Korean waters near the tense inter-Korean maritime boundary.

Yoo made the pledge as he met with some 30 fishermen during his visit to the border island of Yeonpyeong.


"I will strongly recommend that the government actively push for the system under which our fishermen receive fish from North Koreans in the intermediate zone (waters between the two Koreas) and sell them (in the South or elsewhere)," he said.

To better cope with the illegal fishing by the Chinese, Yoo also pledged to ask the government to establish a Coast Guard agency in charge of the five northwestern islands near the Northern Limit Line, a de facto inter-Korean sea border -- the scene of inter-Korean naval skirmishes in 1999, 2002 and 2009.

After meeting with the fishermen, Yoo visited the Coast Guard and Marine units on the island and provided encouragement to the service members. He also paid his respects to fallen troops at the island's memorial park. (Yonhap)