[2020 National Audit] Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: "There Are Videos and Photos Presumed to Show Incineration"

Won In-cheol, the nominee for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is delivering an opening statement at the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 18th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter]The military authorities have confirmed that they possess video and photos of a 'light observation' scene presumed to show North Korean soldiers executing and then burning the body of Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official A (47).

On the 8th, during the National Defense Committee's audit of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) at the National Assembly, JCS Chairman Won In-chul acknowledged in response to People Power Party lawmaker Han Ki-ho's question, "I understand there is video showing the body burning for 40 minutes. Have you seen the video?" that "I only saw some photos taken," but stated he had not seen the video.

When further questioned, he reiterated, "It is not a video of the body burning but a video of light observation. I have not seen the video but have seen the photos."

The JCS Intelligence Chief responded, "I have confirmed it to the extent the Chairman answered," and when criticized with "If you haven't seen the video, you can't be the Intelligence Chief," he replied, "Yes, I have confirmed it."

At the time of the media announcement on the 24th of last month, the military stated that a 'light' was observed at 10:11 p.m. on the 22nd through Yeonpyeong Island surveillance equipment, but had remained silent on whether they had secured video or photos of it.

Especially, just before the morning audit recess on that day, when there was criticism that revealing SI (Sensitive Information) intelligence was inappropriate, Defense Committee Chairman Min Hong-chul said, "The video does not seem to be SI," and Chairman Won also responded in a similar vein, so it is expected that there will be calls for the military to disclose the materials they have secured.

The military authorities also revealed that while there were no words meaning 'body' in the North Korean military's intercepted communications, there were words implying 'defection to the South.'

Chairman Won answered People Power Party lawmaker Ha Tae-kyung's question, "Did you confirm the voice (meaning North Korean military interception), and did words like 'body' or 'corpse' appear?" with "There were no such words." When Ha followed up, "So they burned something, but there were no words like 'body' or 'corpse'?" he said, "Yes."

When asked if there were words with similar meanings to a body, such as 'remains' or 'dead person,' Chairman Won confirmed, "There were contextual clues that could be understood, but no specific words."

However, the military authorities had explained on the 24th of last month that they poured oil on the body and burned it near the waters off Dansan-got, North Korea.

Additionally, Chairman Won confirmed that words implying 'defection to the South' were detected in military intelligence. When asked if there were words meaning 'defection to the South,' he said, "That word was present."

When asked if there was a voice recording of the victim (Mr. A), he replied, "Common sense tells us we cannot hear the victim's voice." This means the military intercepted words implying 'defection to the South' in conversations exchanged by North Korean soldiers.

During the audit, it was also officially confirmed for the first time that there are photos capturing lights presumed to show North Korea shooting Mr. A and then performing burning acts.

Furthermore, since North Korea's notification sent to the Blue House on the 25th of last month did not mention 'voluntary defection' contrary to the military's announcement and practically denied 'desecration of the body,' it is expected that whether there were errors in the military's reconstruction of the incident circumstances through intelligence will become a key issue again.

Chairman Won reiterated on the day that his position on the existing military announcement remains unchanged.

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