Gov't says no shooting-related remarks in initial intelligence
A fishery inspection ship that a South Korean official had been on board before later being shot dead by North Korean troops is anchored in Mokpo, a port 410 kilometers southwest of Seoul, on Sept. 28, 2020. Yonhap
South Korea's defense ministry said Wednesday there were no such words as "shoot to kill or fire" in the military's initial intelligence on North Korea's killing of a South Korean fisheries official in the West Sea.
The ministry also expressed regret over some reports that said the South's military took no action despite hearing the North's order to kill the official.
"What happened during the incident in which (the North) shot (the South Korean fisheries official) and burned (his body) was determined after a considerable lapse of time by analyzing pieces of intelligence," the ministry said.
It also said the military did not know all of the facts of the incident in real time.
In line with the ministry's remarks, the South Korean presidential office Cheong Wa Dae denied the reports that the government had full awareness of the situation but did not suitably respond to it.
Later in the day, the presidential office also refuted reports that Cheong Wa Dae delivered a notice to the North, proposing an inter-Korean joint probe into the shooting incident and the restoration of the bilateral military communication line via the South's spy agency National Intelligence Service.
According to the government, the 47-year-old official in charge of overseeing fishing activities was shot dead and had his body burned by the North's troops last week. Some reports denounced the government, however, saying its response was insufficient. (Yonhap)