[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] What Did the Military Do During the 9 Hours Before the Missing Person Was Shot?

On the 24th, Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, received a report from Park Jae-min, Vice Minister of National Defense, at the National Assembly regarding the incident in which a government official aboard a fisheries guidance vessel of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries went missing near the northernmost part of the West Sea, close to Soyeonpyeongdo Island. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] As it has been reported that South Korean public official A, who went missing near Soyeonpyeongdo, was shot by a North Korean military patrol boat in North Korean waters, continuous criticism has been raised against the military authorities. The Ministry of National Defense has been seen defending the North by stating that although there was evidence that the North had detained A, they did not take humanitarian measures and that it was not a violation of the September 19 Military Agreement.

According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 24th, A (47), a marine fisheries officer (grade 8) belonging to the West Sea Fisheries Guidance and Management Unit based in Mokpo under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, went missing on the 21st in waters 1.2 miles (2 km) south of Soyeonpyeongdo. On the day of disappearance, A was not seen around 11:30 a.m. during lunchtime, and other crew members searched inside the ship and nearby waters before reporting to the Coast Guard. It was reported that A’s shoes were found inside the ship at that time.

The military authorities identified A’s location the following day. Through surveillance intelligence assets, the military detected circumstances indicating that on the 22nd at around 3:30 p.m., a North Korean fisheries business office patrol boat found the missing person A in the waters off Deoksanggot, Hwanghae Province. It is estimated that the North Korean military fired shots at A around 9:40 p.m. on the 22nd. This means that the North held A for about nine hours. A military official said, "We obtained intelligence that the North Korean naval command gave an order to fire just before the shooting."

The military official said, "North Korean personnel, wearing gas masks and protective suits, kept the missing person at a certain distance from the patrol boat while confirming the circumstances of drifting and apparently heard a statement about defecting to the North," indicating that they observed the actions of the North Korean military detaining A. Subsequently, the South Korean military confirmed a light at the front around 10:11 p.m. on the 22nd and judged that North Korean soldiers in gas masks and protective suits approached the missing person’s body and then burned it. The military reported this to Defense Minister Seo Wook and the Blue House around 11 p.m. on the 22nd.

Since the North Korean military brutally shot an unarmed South Korean civilian, the repercussions on inter-Korean relations are expected to be significant. The military authorities notified the North through the United Nations Command at around 4:45 p.m. on the 23rd via a traditional message about the missing person and requested a response, but as of now, no reply has been received. This is the second case of a South Korean civilian being shot and killed in North Korean territory since the incident involving Park Wang-ja, who visited Mount Kumgang in July 2008.

Regarding this, a military official explained, "We did not anticipate that the North would shoot and cremate A in North Korean waters," and "We only learned the shooting location later through intelligence analysis."

Meanwhile, there are also criticisms that North Korea violated the military agreement. It is understood that the North Korean military shot South Korean public official A near Deoksanggot waters and then burned the body, and Deoksanggot is within the buffer zone under the military agreement. However, a military official said on the day, "The military agreement does not include fire extinguishers and only applies to artillery," and "Especially, shooting at a person is not covered by the military agreement."

The military agreement established buffer zones on land, sea, and air to prohibit hostile acts. The location is not far from where North Korea conducted coastal artillery firing drills in November last year, violating the agreement. Even if the intention was to prevent infectious diseases, the North’s shooting of an unarmed civilian clearly constitutes a hostile act.

The inter-Korean military agreement, which became a symbol of the Moon Jae-in administration’s North Korea policy, is the "Military Agreement on the Implementation of the Panmunjom Declaration (September 19 Military Agreement)" signed on September 19, 2018, by then Defense Minister Song Young-moo and North Korean Minister of People’s Armed Forces No Kwang-chol. It includes five measures to prevent accidental armed conflicts between South and North Korean militaries. So far, South and North Korea have implemented ▶ suspension of military exercises near the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) ▶ establishment of no-fly zones near the MDL ▶ partial withdrawal of surveillance posts (GPs) within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) ▶ demilitarization of the Joint Security Area (JSA) in Panmunjom, among others.