"Is it credible intelligence?" President Moon repeatedly questioned North Korea's atrocities

Emphasis on Fact-Checking in Intelligence Report on North Korea's Shooting and Body Mutilation
"Shocking Incident... Cannot Be Tolerated for Any Reason"

President Moon Jae-in attended the Digital New Deal Cultural Content Industry Strategy Report Meeting held on the afternoon of the 24th at Camp One, a private online performance venue in Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi Province, and is moving after finishing his speech.

Regarding North Korea's atrocity of shooting and killing South Korean citizens in the West Sea and burning their bodies, it was reported that President Moon Jae-in was so shocked that he repeatedly questioned the credibility even after receiving the report. President Moon described the incident as a "shocking event" and expressed deep regret.

According to a senior Blue House official on the 24th, the first written report was made to the president at 18:36 on the 22nd, after the disappearance incident initially occurred on the 21st. The report was about intelligence that a staff member of the West Sea Fisheries Management Unit was presumed to have fallen into the sea on the 21st and that a search was underway, and that the North had reportedly found the missing person at sea. Since nothing was known about North Korea's atrocity at that time, President Moon did not make any special remarks.

Later, at 22:30 on the 22nd, the government obtained more specific intelligence. It was intelligence that North Korea had shot the missing person who had expressed intent to defect to the North and then cremated the body. This intelligence was not immediately reported to President Moon due to doubts about its credibility.

Based on this intelligence, an emergency meeting of relevant ministers was convened at the Blue House from 1:00 to 2:30 a.m. on the 23rd. The National Security Office Director, Chief of Staff, Minister of Unification, Director of the National Intelligence Service, and Minister of National Defense attended to share the situation. A senior Blue House official explained, "At this meeting, the analysis of how credible the intelligence was and countermeasures were discussed."

President Moon confirmed the facts of North Korea's shooting and mutilation of the body at 8:30 a.m. on the 23rd. The senior Blue House official explained, "The intelligence obtained at 22:30 on the 22nd was not credible intelligence at that time," and thus it was not reported to the president. He added, "After further analysis, it was assessed as credible intelligence, and a face-to-face report was made between 8:30 and 9:00 a.m. on the 23rd."

At that time, President Moon instructed to ascertain the exact facts and also to verify the related facts with North Korea. The senior Blue House official said, "President Moon said, 'If the intelligence turns out to be true, it will be something that angers the people,' and he ordered to ascertain the facts and inform the public exactly as they are."

Accordingly, at 4:35 a.m. on September 23, the government sent a notification to North Korea through the UN Command Military Armistice Commission channel requesting verification of the facts.

While North Korea remained unresponsive, the government convened another meeting of relevant ministers at 8:00 a.m. on the 24th. The Ministry of National Defense reported the analysis results related to the disappearance incident. After comprehensively analyzing the intelligence, the Ministry officially concluded that the public official who disappeared near the northernmost Soyeonpyeong Island in the West Sea was shot by the North and then cremated.

Seo Ju-seok, Secretary General of the National Security Council (NSC) and First Deputy Director of the National Security Office at the Blue House, is briefing on the shooting death of the missing public official from Yeonpyeong Island at the Blue House Chuncheon Press Center's main briefing room on the afternoon of the 24th.

Then, at 9:00 a.m., Suh Hoon, Director of the National Security Office, and Noh Young-min, Chief of Staff, gave a face-to-face report of the analysis results to the president. It was reported that President Moon once again questioned the credibility of the intelligence at this meeting. Upon receiving confirmation that the credibility was high, President Moon instructed, "Convene the NSC Standing Committee to organize the government's position and announce to the public the facts as they have been revealed so far."

President Moon said, "This is a shocking incident and very regrettable," and "It cannot be tolerated for any reason," White House spokesperson Kang Min-seok conveyed in a briefing that afternoon. He added, "The North Korean authorities must provide responsible answers and take measures," and "The military must further strengthen its vigilance posture and prepare all measures to protect the lives and safety of the people," Kang said.