Patrol boats from South Korea and Japan remained confronting each other Wednesday afternoon, reported South Korean Yonhap News Agency.

A South Korean fishing vessel fled back to South Korea waters in the East Sea (Sea of Japan) that separates the two nations after being accused of fishing in Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), said Yonhap.

The report also said maritime officers from the two nations are now conducting negotiations aboard the vessel for a peaceful resolution.

As of late Wednesday afternoon, all eight South Korean crew members of the fishing vessel had been transferred safely to one of South Korean coast guard vessels, Yonhap said.

The confrontation developed early Wednesday as three Japanese patrol boats tried to seize the 77-ton eel-fishing South Korean boat for allegedly violating the law in the country's EEZ.

After a brief scuffle, the trawler "Sinpung-ho" fled back to South Korea's EEZ about 16 miles off Ulsan, a southeastern South Korean port some 400 kilometers away from Seoul.

Four South Korean patrol boats rushed to the area as a tense standoff began at around 2 AM of Wednesday (16:00 GMT Tuesday). An unidentified number of patrol boats from each side were tied to the fishing boat with several ropes.

As the confrontation showed no signs of a resolution, South Korea's Foreign Ministry called in a diplomatic minister at the Japanese Embassy to Seoul and urged Japan to withdraw from the area, Yonhap said.

"We demanded the Japanese boats leave the area for a quiet and smooth resolution of the incident," South Korean Foreign Ministry's Spokesman Lee Kyu-hyung said. "I believe the standoff will end soon."

Earlier in the day, the South Korean regional maritime affairs office also called in another Japanese maritime official to file a similar demand, Lee said.

The Japanese police accused the South Korean fishing boat of operating 3 miles inside Japan's EEZ. However, South Korean authorities said there is no evidence the vessel was operating inside Japan's EEZ.

(Xinhua News Agency June 2, 2005)