Yi Whan-woo is a Korea Times journalist primarily covering finance. He writes in-depth articles on macroeconomy and financial markets and previously covered sports, politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs, among others. Feel free to contact him at yistory@koreatimes.co.kr.
Seoul in dilemma over North Korea's responses to deadly shooting
A Navy vessel is on patrol near the front-line border in the Western Sea, Sunday. / Yonhap
By Yi Whan-woo
Pyongyang warns Seoul against violating western sea border to search for missing official
By Yi Whan-woo
North Korea, just days after its leader's rare and swift apology, is putting the Moon Jae-in administration in trouble again over the killing of a South Korean fisheries official in North Korean waters.
On Sunday, the North warned the South not to cross its maritime boundary in the West Sea to search for the body of the official shot dead by North Korean troops while adrift early last week.
Pyongyang said its own search is underway and that the body, which has not been recovered, will be handed over to Seoul if recovered.
The North's move is seen to be an uncooperative gesture toward Cheong Wa Dae's call for a joint investigation into the death of the official and the whereabouts of his remains.
Both Koreas are on the same page when it comes to the death of the 47-year-old official, identified by his surname Lee.
But they presented conflicting scenarios over why Lee drifted into North Korean waters and also whether his body was burned by the North Korean maritime guards under “shoot-to-kill orders” to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
In an emergency meeting with security-related ministers Sunday evening, President Moon Jae-in renewed his calls for a joint investigation. He underlined the importance of retrieving the remains of the dead official and his belongings in a humanitarian perspective.
“The Moon administration may have thought it was saved by the bell when Kim made an apology, said Shin In-kyun, president of the Korea Defense Network. “It turns out the apology was not sincere at all and merely calculated to avoid backlash from the international community.”
The Moon government was facing internal criticism over its intelligence community's questionable interim investigation results and failure to protect its citizen, before Kim made an apology and diverted public attention.
The intelligence authorities alleged Lee was shot dead while attempting to defect to the North.
In a letter delivered to the South, Friday, the North confirmed the killing and that its leader Kim Jong-un feel “very sorry to give big disappointment” to Moon and the South Korean citizens.
In the same letter, however, the North argued its troops killed him because he refused to fully identify himself and then sought to escape.
Regarding the whereabouts of the official's body, the South said the North Korean troops set it on fire with oil and burned it.
Amid fierce criticism over the suspected inhumane act, Pyongyang said it burned the floating object that the official was holding onto, not himself, and that it does not know where the body went.
“The North is only concerned about angering the international community, especially the United States, and possible tougher sanctions,” Shin said. “Accordingly, it does not want the South to look into the case and find out that Lee's body was defiled in a horrific manner.”
Kim Dong-yeop, a research professor at the Kyungnam University Institute for Far Eastern Studies, pointed out that Kim did not mention who is responsible for the death of the official.
“If he was truly sorry, he should have given details about follow-up measures, including who will be held accountable and what punishment will be given,” he said. “Against this backdrop, it is no surprise the North is being uncooperative with the South's call for a joint investigation.”
Kim reckoned the North's warning of the South not to violate the maritime boundary is another uncooperative gesture.
The South Korean Navy and Coast Guard have been searching south of the designated Northern Limit Line (NLL), which is recognized by the United Nations but denied by the North.