Seo Ju-seok, Former First Deputy Director of the National Security Office at the Blue House [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Seo Ju-seok, former First Deputy Director of the National Security Office, reported that at the time of the West Sea government official killing incident, the 'Special Intelligence (SI)' confirmed signs of defection to the North.
On the 23rd, Seo appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and said, "Regarding the specific circumstances at the time of discovery, I believe it can be better understood by looking at the entire SI." He added, "At that time, there was an unusually long SI intelligence report. From the content and situation, I think you can clearly understand the circumstances related to that part (defection to the North)."
When asked by the host if there were specific circumstances to determine defection to the North, he replied, "The situation at the time could be sufficiently understood." He mentioned that in the early stages of the incident, "Possibilities such as accidental fall or extreme choice were considered. As circumstantial intelligence came in, further analysis and investigation were conducted."
Regarding the mention of guidelines from the Civil Affairs Office at the time, he said, "I heard that the secretary related to the Civil Affairs Office already stated on social media that it was not true," and added, "This is the first time I have heard about the National Security Office guidelines."
About former President Moon Jae-in's instructions at the time, Seo said, "The President said that if the intelligence was true, it would be something that our citizens would be angry about," and added, "He instructed to directly notify North Korea for confirmation and to inform the public as it is once the details are revealed." He also said, "Through the spokesperson, he instructed that North Korea must take responsible responses and measures for this unacceptable and shocking incident, and that all-out readiness should be established to protect the lives and safety of the people."
Regarding the criticism that there was a six-hour gap between the identification of the deceased and the killing, and that a prompt response during this period might have saved the deceased, Seo explained that there was not enough physical time. He said, "It takes a certain amount of time to record and interpret new intelligence and to synthesize and analyze fragmented intelligence from various sources," and explained, "The intelligence about the missing person’s discovery or the attack was reported to us long after the time it was broadcasted, and we learned about it an hour or two later." He added, "Also, after the intelligence about the missing person’s discovery, the situation rapidly changed leading to the killing, which no one could have predicted."
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