Minister Seo Wook: "I Do Not Consider North Korean Civilian Defection to the South as a Security Failure"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Defense Minister Seo Wook recently stated that he does not believe there was a failure in surveillance regarding the incident in which a North Korean man defected to the South through the eastern front line of Gangwon Province.

On the 9th, Minister Seo appeared at the National Assembly's National Defense Committee meeting and responded to a question from Hwang Hee, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, asking whether this incident was a failure in surveillance by saying, "I do not think it was a failure in surveillance."

Minister Seo also explained that the defector was a civilian, stating, "There were many obstructions in the observation area behind the barbed wire fence, so the surveillance equipment did not detect him," and added, "We saw him on the surveillance equipment when he crossed the barbed wire fence." He continued, "When we dispatched forces, the North Korean civilian had moved further south," and said, "We are proficient in depth interception, and we caught him there; it can be said that he was apprehended in the depth of the barbed wire fence."

Nevertheless, he acknowledged that it was not a well-executed operation and that there were regrettable aspects. Minister Seo said, "Since he was apprehended behind the barbed wire fence, I would not say it was a very successful operation, and there are some regrets."

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