South Korea said Saturday (Sept. 26) that it has asked North Korea to further investigate the shooting of a South Korean fisheries employee and suggested that the two countries conduct a joint investigation into the shooting incident.
The South Korean presidential office said in a statement after a meeting of the National Security Council on Friday, “We decided to ask the DPRK to conduct further investigation and requested a joint investigation if necessary.” The statement said South Korea will continue its own investigation due to “inconsistencies” in North Korea’s explanation of the shooting.
South Korea’s main opposition National Power Party said Kim Jong-un’s apology on Saturday was not sincere. It called on the Moon Jae-in administration to refer the case to the International Criminal Law Office and the U.N. Security Council.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made a rare public apology after North Korean soldiers killed South Korean civilian employees near the disputed sea border on Friday.
South Korea’s military on Thursday accused North Korean troops of shooting and burning the employee’s body. Seoul believes the clerk may have been trying to defect from North Korea.
According to a statement from the South Korean presidential office, Kim Jong-un said the accident was a deep disappointment to his fellow South Koreans and that he was “very sorry” for it. The statement said the shooting was “unacceptable” and “should not have happened.
The 47-year-old man disappeared Monday from a patrol boat about 10 kilometers south of the de facto inter-Korean border. The man had reportedly been plagued by debts and other personal problems, and Seoul officials suspect he was carrying a flotation device when he jumped off the patrol boat.
According to the South Korean military, after being intercepted by North Korean forces at sea, the man was interrogated, shot, and then had his body doused with oil and burned, apparently on orders from his superiors.
The North Korean side gives a different story. The DPRK says that border guards fired ten shots at the man from a distance, following coronavirus prevention guidelines. When they approached the floating device, they found only blood. They then set fire to the floating device, the statement said.
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