Military: "Missing person shot dead... Urging North Korea's explanation and punishment of those responsible"

Mugunghwa 10, the fisheries patrol vessel on which the missing Yeonpyeong Island public official was aboard.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] It has been confirmed that South Korean government official A, who was reported missing while aboard a fisheries guidance vessel, was shot and killed by North Korea, and his body was burned.

On the 24th, the Ministry of National Defense confirmed this fact in a statement and said, "We strongly condemn North Korea's atrocity and strongly urge North Korea to explain and punish those responsible." In particular, there are concerns that this shooting incident by North Korea occurred in the West Sea maritime buffer zone, potentially violating the September 19 Inter-Korean Military Agreement.

However, a military official said on the same day, "The military agreement does not include fire extinguishers and only applies to artillery," adding, "There is no provision in the military agreement regarding shooting at people." This means the military agreement was not violated.

The military agreement established buffer zones on land, sea, and air to prohibit hostile acts. North Korea's coastal artillery firing training in November last year was not far from the area where the agreement was violated. Even if the intention was to prevent infectious diseases, North Korea's shooting at an unarmed civilian clearly constitutes a hostile act.

In the Ministry of National Defense's statement on the "Missing Incident of Our Citizen in the West Sea" on the same day, it was stated, "At around 1 p.m. on the 21st, we received a report from the Coast Guard that one crew member of a fisheries guidance vessel belonging to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries went missing 1.2 miles south of Soyeonpyeong Island," and "After analyzing various intelligence, it was confirmed that North Korea committed the atrocity of shooting our citizen found in North Korean waters and burning the body." The statement also warned, "All responsibility for the atrocity committed against our citizen lies with North Korea," and urged punishment of those responsible.

Based on intelligence collected so far, the military and intelligence authorities believe that the deceased A drifted in North Korean waters for about 40 hours after jumping into the sea from the fisheries guidance vessel. During this process, A likely suffered from hypothermia and severe dehydration. The circumstances under which A jumped into the sea from the moored fisheries guidance vessel have not yet been revealed. The military authorities currently estimate that A attempted to defect voluntarily to the North.

With the final confirmation that the missing government official A was shot dead by North Korean forces, inter-Korean relations are expected to further freeze. The military authorities have stated they will "confirm the facts with the North," and it is expected that this will be done through the Panmunjom Red Cross channel, inter-Korean military communication lines, or the UN Command channel. However, since North Korea unilaterally declared the suspension of inter-Korean communication channels in June, citing leaflets sent to the North, it is uncertain whether communication channels will operate smoothly.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea will receive a briefing from the Ministry of National Defense regarding the incident in which the missing government official from Yeonpyeong Island was shot and killed by North Korea. The Democratic Party announced that the leadership, including Representative Lee Nak-yeon and Floor Leader Kim Tae-nyeon, will attend a briefing by the Ministry of National Defense at the National Assembly in the afternoon.

Below is the full text of the Ministry of National Defense's statement on the "Missing Incident of Our Citizen in the West Sea."

『 Our military received a report from the Coast Guard at around 1 p.m. on September 21 that one crew member of a fisheries guidance vessel belonging to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries went missing 1.2 miles south of Soyeonpyeong Island. The missing fisheries guidance official A was performing fisheries guidance duties on a fisheries guidance vessel near Soyeonpyeong Island on September 21. After precise analysis of various intelligence, our military confirmed that North Korea committed the atrocity of shooting our citizen found in North Korean waters and burning the body. Our military strongly condemns North Korea's atrocity and strongly urges North Korea to explain and punish those responsible. Furthermore, we solemnly warn that all responsibility for the atrocity committed against our citizen lies with North Korea.』