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The man’s brother dismissed the claim as “fiction” and accused the government of incriminating his brother after failing to rescue him.
South Korea says a government official killed by North Korean sailors wanted to defect, even as his brother dismissed the claim as “fiction” and asked Pyongyang to return the body.
Seoul concluded Tuesday that the man, who had gambling debts, swam against bad currents with the help of a life jacket and a flotation device, indicating that he intended to resettle in North Korea.
It is unclear whether the announcement will defuse mounting tensions between the two nations over the man’s death last week, prompting a rare apology from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The official, who has not been identified, was aboard a government inspection boat when he disappeared on September 21 and was killed by North Korean troops the next day.
South Korean Coast Guard Senior Officer Yoon Seong-hyun said in a televised briefing on Tuesday that there was a “very low chance” that the man may have fallen from a boat or tried to kill himself because He was wearing a life jacket when he was found in North Korean waters.
Yoon also said that the tidal currents at that time would make it extremely difficult for man to drift into the waters of North Korea naturally.
He also said that the man had expressed a desire to defect before his death, citing intelligence information that showed North Korean officials knew the man’s name, age, height and hometown as evidence of his communication with them.
Yoon did not elaborate. But some experts said he was probably referring to the interception of South Korean communications between North Korean officials about the man.
Coast Guard officials have previously said the 47-year-old official was the father of two children with some debts. Yoon said the debts amounted to about 330 million won ($ 282,240), 80 percent of which came from gambling.
The Coast Guard said its assessment was based on an analysis of tidal currents in the area, a visit to the government ship the official had been on prior to his disappearance, an investigation into his financial transactions and a meeting with officials from the South Korean Ministry of Defense.
‘Unexpected and embarrassing’
Meanwhile, the official’s older brother, Lee Rae-jin, accused the South Korean government of framing him with an unfounded accusation of attempting to defect after failing to rescue him.
Lee told reporters Tuesday that his brother was proud of his work as a public servant and never told him about his desire to defect.
“The government is hastily accusing my brother of defection from North Korea,” Lee said, accusing Seoul of wasting “golden time” and making small efforts to recover his brother’s remains.
Lee said he “desperately” wants to get his brother’s body back and called for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s cooperation. “I would like to ask Kim Jong Un why he killed my brother,” he added.
Lee said his brother probably fell into the sea by accident. South Korea has accused North Korea of fatally shooting him and burning his body.
North Korea acknowledged that its troops killed the official because he refused to answer their questions and tried to flee. He said his troops only burned the man’s flotation device.
Kim offered a rare apology for the man’s death after what he described as the “unexpected and shameful” killing of the official, but his government has not confirmed that the man was trying to defect.
The defection of a South Korean to North Korea is highly unusual, although more than 33,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea for political and economic reasons in the past 20 years.
South Korea has demanded a joint investigation with North Korea into the shooting. Pyongyang has yet to respond to the request and said on Sunday it would begin its own search for the body.
The man’s shooting has sparked a huge political storm in South Korea, with conservatives launching fierce attacks on liberal President Moon Jae-in, who advocates greater ties to North Korea.
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