<Anchor> The
military officially announced today (24th) that a civil servant who disappeared from a fishing guidance ship near Soyeonpyeong Island three days ago was shot at sea by the North Korean military and then cremated.
The military declared North Korea atrocities and urged North Korea to clarify and punish the person in charge.
This is Kim Tae-hoon, a reporter specializing in defense.
<Reporter> On
the 21st, the Ministry of Defense officially announced that 47-year-old A, a public official belonging to the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, who had been missing in the sea south of Soyeonpyeong Island, was suspected of being shot and killed by North Korean troops while attempting to defect to North Korea.
As a result of analyzing various intelligences, the military said that the day after his disappearance, around 3:30 pm the day after his disappearance, Mr. A said he was found on a ship at a North Korean fisheries office while wearing a life jacket and relying on a floating object off the coast of the mountain cape.
A military official explained that the ship's crew at the North Korean Fisheries Office heard statements from Mr. A, who wore gas masks and drifting, after which the North Korean naval enforcement boat approached and fired at Mr. A according to the instructions above.
The North Korean soldiers poured oil on the sea and cremated Mr. A, and about 10:11 the night before, lights were also observed in our military.
It has not been confirmed whether North Korean troops recovered Mr. A's body.
The military strongly condemned the shooting and cremation as intentional brutality under the command of the North Korean navy and demanded punishment for the person in charge.
[Ahn Young-ho/Head of Joint Operations Headquarters: Our military strongly condemns North Korea's atrocities and strongly urges North Korea to clarify and punish the person in charge.]
Further investigation is needed on the circumstances and motives of North Korea. The military believes that Mr. A, who knows the sea area well, puts on a life jacket and used floating objects, and thus attempted voluntarily to North Korea.