Seo Wook "Did Not Expect This from North Korea"... Cheongwadae Also Ignored Information

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] On the 24th, Defense Minister Seo Wook said regarding the delayed disclosure of the circumstances of the South Korean official who was shot and killed in North Korean waters after media reports, "We did not think that North Korea could commit such a heinous act, so we were analyzing the information."

Minister Seo appeared at the National Assembly Defense Committee plenary session that day and said, "During the process of gathering pieces of information from various sources and converting them into intelligence, the circumstances (of the incident) were identified," adding, "It took time to analyze whether this was really true, and regardless of President Moon Jae-in's UN speech, efforts were made to increase the credibility of the information."

This is understood as the military authorities having obtained intelligence but failing to make a proper judgment. The military detected signs through surveillance intelligence assets that North Korea's Fisheries Enforcement Boat discovered the missing person A near the waters off Deungsan Cape, Hwanghae Province, around 3:30 p.m. on the 22nd. It is estimated that the North Korean military fired at A around 9:40 p.m. on the 22nd. This means North Korea held A for about nine hours. A military official said, "We obtained intelligence that just before the shooting, an order to fire was received from the higher-ups (North Korean Navy command)." Our military judged that around 10:11 p.m. on the 22nd, lights were seen in the front line, and North Korean soldiers wearing gas masks and protective clothing approached the missing person's body and then burned it.

The military reported to Defense Minister Seo Wook and the Blue House around 11 p.m. on the 22nd. However, the Blue House also failed to make a proper judgment. A Blue House official told reporters that day, "The president's speech was broadcast from 1:26 a.m. to 1:42 a.m. on the 23rd, and from 1 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. on the same day, a meeting of related ministers was held to evaluate the credibility of the intelligence." He added, "In a state where credibility was not confirmed, it was impossible to decide to cancel or revise the UN speech."

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Seo Wook condemned North Korea for committing the heinous act of shooting an unarmed South Korean citizen and urged North Korea to explain and punish those responsible. In response to a question from Rep. Hwang Hee of the Democratic Party asking for his thoughts, Minister Seo said, "I regret that our citizen suffered such a tragedy in North Korean waters, and we will make comprehensive efforts to prevent recurrence."