Slain South Korean official left no indication of attempt to defect to North A North Korean flag is seen from Paju, South Korea, Thursday. According to Coast Guard, a South Korean official who was shot dead by North Korean soldiers earlier this week left no indication of an attempt to defect to the North. YonhapA South Korean fisheries official who was shot dead by North Korea earlier this week after going missing at sea left no indication of an attempt to defect to the North, the Coast Guard said Thursday.North Korea shot and killed the 47-year-old official affiliated with the oceans ministry at sea before burning his body, Seoul's defense ministry said. He went missing from an inspection boat on Monday while on duty in waters off the western border island of Yeonpyeong.The ministry said he is presumed to have jumped into the sea in a suspected attempt to defect to the North and had drifted into North Korean waters.In a press briefing, the Coast Guard said that it has not found his mobile phone or a will in the 499-ton vessel. Other personal belongings, such as his wallet and clothes, were retrieved.According to his colleagues, the missing official never talSep 24, 2020
Shooting of official puts inter-Korean relations in tangle Army Lt. Gen. Ahn Young-ho of the Joint Chiefs of Staff holds a press conference at the defense ministry in Seoul, Thursday, over an incident of North Korea shooting a missing South Korean official and burning his body earlier this week. / YonhapSeoul strongly condemns Pyongyang over 'inhumane' actBy Kang Seung-wooThe government has strongly protested North Korea's execution-like shooting of a missing South Korean official and the burning of his body. With strong criticism toward Pyongyang coming from not only the opposition parties but also from the ruling bloc, the incident is likely to worsen already stalled inter-Korea ties, according to North Korea watchersThe Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Thursday that the 47-year-old official from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries went missing while on duty aboard an inspection vessel in waters off the western border island of Yeonpyeong, Monday.The JCS presumes he jumped into the sea to defect to the North and drifted into North Korean waters, considering he left his shoes on the boat, was wearing a life jacket and was clinging to an unSep 24, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
Presidential office strongly condemns North Korea for killing South Korean official Suh Choo-suk, deputy director of the national security office, speaks during a press briefing at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday. YonhapCheong Wa Dae on Thursday strongly denounced North Korea's killing of an innocent South Korean by gunshot earlier this week.In a statement, Suh Choo-suk, deputy director of the national security office, urged the North to reveal the entire truth behind the "inhumane act" and punish those who are responsible for it. Suh, who doubles as chief of the secretariat of the National Security Council (NSC), said that North Korea's shooting of the unarmed South Korean national to death and damaging his body cannot be justified for any reason. (Yonhap)Sep 24, 2020
Unification ministry says 'no communication channel to contact North Korea' Unification Minister Lee In-young is seen at the government complex in Seoul, Thursday. YonhapThe unification ministry said Thursday it has no means to communicate with North Korea over its recent killing of a South Korean fisheries official, as Pyongyang cut off all inter-Korean communication lines earlier this year, an official said Thursday.The defense ministry confirmed earlier that the North shot the 47-year-old official to death and burned his body earlier this week. The ministry also said it sent a message to the North via a communication channel between the U.S.-led United Nations Command (UNC) and North Korea, but it received no response.The unification ministry said it has no means of communication with the North, and the North has sent no message to the South with regard to the killing.In June, North Korea cut off inter-Korean communication lines and blew up a liaison office in anger over the sending of anti-Pyongyang leaflets into the North from the South. (Yonhap)Sep 24, 2020
Gov't confirms North Korea shot missing South Korean official to death In this Dec. 22, 2010, file photo, a government ship sails past the South Korean Navy's floating base as the sun rises near Yeonpyeong island, South Korea. APNorth Korea shot a missing South Korean official to death and burned his body earlier this week, the defense ministry confirmed Thursday, condemning its "brutality" and calling for explanations and punishment for those responsible.The 47-year-old official affiliated with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries disappeared from the 499-ton boat before noon Monday while on duty aboard an inspection boat in waters off the western border island of Yeonpyeong."North Korea found the man in its waters and committed an act of brutality by shooting at him and burning his body, according to our military's thorough analysis of diverse intelligence," the defense ministry said in a statement."Our military strongly condemns such a brutal act and strongly urges the North to provide an explanation and punish those responsible," the statement read. "We also sternly warn North Korea that all responsibilities for this incident lie with it." It is theSep 24, 2020
Moon's proposal for health cooperation a chance to bring back North Korea: experts President Moon Jae-in / YonhapAn initiative proposed by South Korean President Moon Jae-in to establish regional cooperation including with North Korea on infectious diseases may provide a chance to bring communist nation into an international community, experts said Wednesday.The experts noted multilateral leadership may also provide a much needed tool to jointly battle the COVID-19 pandemic in Northeast Asia.The remarks came one day after the South Korean leader proposed launching a "Northeast Asia Cooperation Initiative" for infectious disease control and public health in his address to the United Nations General Assembly.The South Korean president proposed the envisioned initiative include China, Japan and Mongolia, along with the two Koreas."A cooperative architecture that guarantees collective protection of life and safety will lay the groundwork for North Korea to have its security guaranteed by engaging with the international community," Moon said.Victor Cha, a Korea expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), noted sharing of informaSep 24, 2020
South Korean official may have been killed trying to defect to North In this Dec. 22, 2010, file photo, a government ship sails past the South Korean Navy's floating base as the sun rises near Yeonpyeong island, South Korea. APA South Korean fisheries official who went missing on Monday may have been shot dead by North Korean troops and later cremated after attempting to defect to the North, Yonhap news agency reported, citing unnamed intelligence sources in Seoul. The official was reported missing from a South Korean fisheries patrol boat when it was about 10 kilometres (6 miles) south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), a disputed line of military control that acts as the de facto maritime boundary between North and South Korea. The exact reason the 47-year-old official was shot is still unknown, but North Korean troops may have been acting under anti-coronavirus orders, Yonhap quoted multiple sources as saying. South Korea's defense ministry and National Intelligence Service did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The U.S. military commander in South Korea said earlier this month that North Korean troops had been given "shoot-to-kill ordSep 24, 2020
'Moon's proposal for end-of-war declaration untimely, unrealistic' President Moon delivers a speech at the 75th United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 23. YonhapBy Do Je-hae President Moon Jae-in's speech early Wednesday morning at the 75th United Nations General Assembly contained some proposals on engaging North Korea. Political watchers, however, generally view the proposals, including declaring an end to the 1950-53 Korean War, as unrealistic in the current deadlock in inter-Korean and denuclearization talks.Moon called for the support of the international community in declaring an official end to the war, which was halted by an armistice, not a peace treaty. He also proposed the establishment of a new network of countries in Northeast Asia, including the two Koreas, China, Japan and Mongolia, to promote cooperation in infectious disease control and the promotion of public health.A push for a declaration ending the Korean War was one of the highlights of the 2018 Panmunjeom Declaration, the outcome of Moon's first summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. But the move has failed to capture the attention of the relevant parties, parSep 23, 2020By Do Je-hae
North Korea and Iran resume long-range missile cooperation: report In this April 15, 2017, file photo, navy personnel sit in front of a submarine-launched "Pukguksong" ballistic missile as it is paraded across Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea. APIran and North Korea have resumed long-range missile cooperation in a project that includes the transfer of "critical parts," Reuters reported, citing an unnamed senior U.S. official.The official did not offer detailed evidence on the joint work, but the remark reinforces speculation over the North's weapons proliferation activities amid its economic woes stemming from biting international sanctions."Iran and North Korea have resumed cooperation on a long-range missile project, including the transfer of critical parts," the official was quoted as saying in the report Sunday. He declined to say when such joint work first began, stopped and then started again.The official made the remarks as he explained that the U.S. on Monday will sanction more than two dozen people and entities involved in Iran's nuclear, missile and conventional arms based on the argument that Tehran wants nuclear weapons capabSep 21, 2020
Defector caught trying to cross back into North Korea YonhapSouth Korea's police said Sunday that they have taken into custody a North Korean defector for attempting to cross into his homeland through a military unit in an eastern border town. The man in his 30s was caught entering a military unit in Chorwon, Gangwon Province, at around 9 a.m. on Thursday in an attempt to cross into the North. He was found to have four mobile phones and a cutting machine when he was caught. Police said that the man defected to the South in 2018 and has stayed in Seoul, though they did not provide more details on his identity. Investigation is under way to determine why and how he was trying to return to the North. It is against the national security law to enter the North without state approval.Defectors returning to North Korea have drawn media attention after Pyongyang recently claimed that a defector suspected of having coronavirus symptoms crossed the inter-Korean border and returned to his hometown. The unification ministry handling inter-Korean affairs earlier said that a total of 11 North Korean defectors have returned to their communist homelandSep 20, 2020
