Ha Tae-kyung: "President Moon's False Excuse... Communication with North Korea During Civil Servant Disappearance"

"Defense Minister Who Did Not Order Rescue Cooperation Must Be Dismissed"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, criticized on the 16th regarding the incident of a North Korean Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries official being shot, stating, “It has been confirmed that South and North Korean vessels communicated with each other using the international maritime communication network from the first day of the official’s disappearance on the 21st,” adding, “This directly contradicts President Moon Jae-in’s statement that there was no communication line with North Korea and thus rescue was impossible.”

In a press release on the same day, Representative Ha said, “During the Navy’s National Assembly audit held at the Navy Headquarters in Gyeryongdae on the 15th, when I inquired about when communication between South and North Korean vessels via the international maritime communication network began, the North responded that ‘from the 21st, they sent unfair communications telling us not to enter their waters,’ and our Navy replied with communication stating ‘we are conducting normal activities in our waters.’”

Representative Ha explained, “‘Unfair communication’ is a term used by our military to indicate that North Korea unilaterally asserts unfair claims. When North Korea sends unfair communications, our military responds accordingly. In effect, communication between the two sides is taking place.”

He added, “However, it was revealed that although the Navy communicated in this manner from the first day of the disappearance, they did not inform the North of the official’s disappearance or request rescue at all,” and said, “In response to my question about whether there was any specific mention of the missing person in the communications on the 21st and 22nd, the Navy Operations Commander answered, ‘There was nothing related to the missing person in communications before the 24th.’”

Representative Ha also confirmed, “The Navy only informed North Korea of the search operation via the international maritime communication network two days after the official was killed, on the 24th, following the Ministry of National Defense’s official announcement,” and criticized, “They remained silent while the official was alive and only communicated that a search was underway after the official was killed.”

He concluded, “President Moon, who missed the chance to save our citizen and made false excuses, must officially apologize to the public and the bereaved families,” and stated, “The Minister of National Defense, who did not order cooperation for rescue using the communication network, should be dismissed.”

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