<p>The Maeil business newspaper said the military plans to place the sensors near frontier islands in the Yellow Sea, the scene of bloody naval battles in 1999, 2002 and November 2009.<br /><br />A South Korean corvette sank near the disputed border last March after what the South said was a torpedo attack from a North Korean submarine, a charge denied by Pyongyang. The sinking cost 46 lives.<br /><br />In November last year the North shelled Yeonpyeong island, killing four people including civilians.<br /><br />"We plan to install a number of underwater sensors to beef up defence capability in strategically important northwestern islands like Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong islands following the sinking of the Cheonan warship," said an unidentified senior military official quoted by the paper.<br /><br />The control centre to monitor the sensors will be located on Baengnyeong island, the closest one to the border with the North, it said.<br /><br />The defence ministry declined comment on what it called confidential information.<br />Cross-border tensions have been acute since the North's shelling.<br /><br />Seoul since then has staged a series of military exercises --- including a major joint naval drill with the US -- in a show of strength against Pyongyang.</p>
<p>The Maeil business newspaper said the military plans to place the sensors near frontier islands in the Yellow Sea, the scene of bloody naval battles in 1999, 2002 and November 2009.<br /><br />A South Korean corvette sank near the disputed border last March after what the South said was a torpedo attack from a North Korean submarine, a charge denied by Pyongyang. The sinking cost 46 lives.<br /><br />In November last year the North shelled Yeonpyeong island, killing four people including civilians.<br /><br />"We plan to install a number of underwater sensors to beef up defence capability in strategically important northwestern islands like Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong islands following the sinking of the Cheonan warship," said an unidentified senior military official quoted by the paper.<br /><br />The control centre to monitor the sensors will be located on Baengnyeong island, the closest one to the border with the North, it said.<br /><br />The defence ministry declined comment on what it called confidential information.<br />Cross-border tensions have been acute since the North's shelling.<br /><br />Seoul since then has staged a series of military exercises --- including a major joint naval drill with the US -- in a show of strength against Pyongyang.</p>