Seo Wook "Reviewing Additional Operation of Surveillance Equipment on Northwest Islands"

[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 surrounding the shooting death of a South Korean official 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 attended the National Assembly Defense Committee plenary session that day and stated, "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 truly factual, and regardless of President Moon Jae-in's UN speech, efforts were made to increase the credibility of the information."

Additionally, in response to a question from Kim Byung-joo of the Democratic Party of Korea on "how to improve going forward," Minister Seo said, "We will strictly adhere to the concept of boundary operations in the northwestern island areas of the West Sea while considering the additional deployment of surveillance equipment and maritime forces." Regarding the current maritime detection capabilities of military radar equipment, he explained, "Based on test results, there are limitations to detecting people with the surveillance equipment we currently possess."