북한, 상부지시로 남측 실종자 총격후 해상서 불태워
We're learning on this Thursday... that a South Korean government official who went missing earlier this week was questioned in North Korean waters before being shot dead by North Korean troops who then doused his body in oil and set it on fire.
The South Korean military made this confirmation today saying evidence suggests the man was attempting to defect to the North when he was reported missing from a patrol boat on Monday about ten kilometers south of the maritime border between the two Koreas.
Kim Ji-yeon leads our coverage from Seoul's Ministry of National Defense.
The South Korean military confirmed that an official affiliated with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries had gone missing south of Yeonpyeong-do Island off the country's west coast.
The 47-year-old man disappeared on Monday while aboard a patrol boat at the southern part of the Northern Limit Line, the de facto inter-Korean maritime border.
A South Korean military official said North Korean soldiers had put on protective gear... and questioned the man from a distance upon his arrival.
Then on late Tuesday, North Korean soldiers shot the man... and used gasoline to burn his body.
His remains are yet to be found.
The South Korean military sent a statement to North Korea on Wednesday afternoon... through the United Nations Command communication line, asking for an explanation... but the regime is yet to respond.
"Upon close analysis of the related information, our military has confirmed that North Korea has committed a brutal act by shooting dead and burning the body of a South Korean national who was found in the North's waters. The South Korean military strongly condemns North Korea's brutality and demands an explanation from the North, and the person in charge to be punished."
An official from the South Korean military said the incident was not accidental and had been ordered by those higher up in the North Korean chain of command.
The same official raised the possibility the regime may have imposed a shoot-to-kill order along the inter-Korean border to prevent the possible spread of COVID-19.
"The motive or circumstances behind the man's crossing are being investigated by South Korean police. But, the military confirmed the man left his shoes behind,... was wearing a life jacket and had items floating with him while crossing.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News."
