South Korea's defense minister said Friday that it has much circumstantial evidence for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's violation of the inter-Korean maritime border to be "premeditated."

Defense Minister Han Min-koo called an emergency meeting of all major commanders, the ministry's spokesman Kim Min-seok told a press briefing.

Minister Han was quoted as saying the recent DPRK's violation of the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in West Sea was assessed to be " premeditated" given circumstantial evidences, calling for firm defense readiness against any further provocations.

His comments came after naval ships of the two Koreas traded warning shots near the western sea boundary on Tuesday. The South Korean military claimed that a DPRK battleship had sailed across the NLL into its territorial waters, leading to the exchange of the naval gunfire.

The NLL is an inter-Korean maritime boundary set by the United Nations after the 1950-53 Korean War occurred. The DPRK has never recognized the sea border and has claimed it should be redrawn farther south.

Han also called for tighter discipline among servicepersons, citing the recent misconducts such as an Army major general's sexual harassment of a female subordinate.

The military police sought a warrant Friday to detain the two- star general on charges of sexually molesting the female non- commissioned officer at his office five times in August and September, Yonhap News Agency reported.

It was the first time that an active-duty division commander has been detained on sexual abuse charges.

A three-star general, who was in charge of the First Army, was discharged in early September for being drunk in public while on duty.

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