The Circumstances of the 'Civil Servant Shooting' Incident Conveyed by the North through the Cheong Notification Letter...

North Korea: "Bloodstains on debris, debris incinerated"... Identity of "Republic of Korea Amugae" also revealed

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] "Our military unit responsible for guarding the relevant waters received a report that an unidentified man was spotted on a fisheries office auxiliary vessel engaged in fishing operations and immediately dispatched forces."

On the 25th, North Korea acknowledged the shooting of the missing public official through a notification letter sent to the Blue House under the name of the United Front Department but left questions regarding controversial issues raised by the South, such as the 'intent to defect to the North.' In particular, contrary to the South's speculation that the official was burned after being shot, North Korea stated that what was burned was floating debris, presenting a conflicting view.

North Korea stated, "At the coastal area near Gangryeong Peninsula on our side, we approached up to 80 meters to demand identification from a person who illegally intruded on floating debris, but at first, he vaguely said he was someone from the Republic of Korea and then stopped responding," adding, "Our soldiers ordered him to comply, but he remained silent and uncooperative. When we approached further and fired warning shots, he was startled and crouched down, creating a situation where the unidentified individual seemed likely to flee."

The view of Cheongwadae from Namsan, Seoul on the 11th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The North's notification does not mention any declaration of intent to defect to the North but states that the individual identified himself as someone from the Republic of Korea.

Furthermore, North Korea said, "According to some soldiers' testimonies, while crouching, he seemed to try to cover himself with something. Our soldiers fired about ten rounds at the illegal intruder in accordance with the conduct guidelines approved under the maritime surveillance duty regulations beneath the commander's decision, and the distance was about 40 to 50 meters," it was reported.

North Korea claims that their action was prompted by suspicion that the individual was trying to cover himself with something, but they admitted to firing shots. However, they presented a stance contrary to the South's observation that the body was burned. North Korea explained, "After shooting, there was no movement or sound, so we approached within about ten meters to check and search, but the unidentified intruder was not on the floating debris, and a large amount of bloodstains were confirmed."

North Korea stated, "Our soldiers judged that the illegal intruder was killed, and the floating debris the intruder was on was incinerated on-site at sea according to the national emergency quarantine regulations."

A senior Blue House official commented on North Korea's claims, saying, "We hope that people do not make presumptions about the government's judgment on the notification letter but look at it exactly as it is, literally, and make their own judgments." The official urged not to assume that the Blue House acknowledged or accepted North Korea's claims as facts but to refer to the full text.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.