Military, Final Coordination Today on 'Coast Guard's Data Request'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The Joint Chiefs of Staff plans to finalize coordination on the 28th regarding the provision of key intelligence materials related to Mr. Lee, a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official who died from North Korean gunfire, to the Korea Coast Guard. The materials the military will provide to the Coast Guard are believed to include information concerning the circumstances in which Mr. Lee reportedly expressed a 'defection to the North' statement, as well as other contentious issues where the claims between South and North Korea differ.

On this day, a military official stated, "Regarding the request for cooperation on materials made directly by senior officials at the superintendent level who visited the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the 25th, the intelligence-related department of the Joint Chiefs plans to finalize today the scope and timing of the intelligence materials to be provided to the Coast Guard." The official added, "Most of the materials collected by the military are classified as highly confidential, so we are considering whether to provide only the results externally or also include the collection methods."

Since a significant portion of the intelligence gathered during the investigation is classified as Special Intelligence (SI) obtained through wiretapping and other means, which is a core security matter, there is deep deliberation over the extent of information to be shared. SI is treated as highly classified intelligence, and it is customary not to disclose the collection methods or even the existence of such intelligence clearly, due to concerns about exposing the means and methods of intelligence gathering on North Korea. Minister of National Defense Seo Wook also handled parts of the information that could cause leaks as 'non-disclosed' during an emergency briefing at the National Defense Committee in the National Assembly on the 23rd. At that time, Han Ki-ho, the senior member of the People Power Party on the National Defense Committee, also refrained from briefing specific details.

However, in this case, since the announcements from the South and North regarding Mr. Lee’s intention to defect differ, and the bereaved family strongly opposes the military authorities’ judgment citing no signs of defection, fact-checking on the discrepancies with the traditional message sent by the North’s United Front Department on the 25th is inevitable. Clues are needed to resolve issues such as whether the deceased Mr. Lee’s body was mutilated, whether he expressed defection intentions, the North Korean Navy Command’s order to fire, and the whereabouts of the body.

The Coast Guard’s own investigation has made little progress so far. They have not found Mr. Lee’s mobile phone or a suicide note. Notably, both closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed on the ship have been out of order since the 18th, making it impossible to track his movements. The Coast Guard is conducting digital forensic work on the computers (PCs) aboard the Mugunghwa 10 and 13 ships, which Mr. Lee was on just before going missing, to check for any North Korea-related search records. They are also analyzing GPS (Global Positioning System) records that track the movements of the Mugunghwa 10.

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