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The determination and frankness of Korean soldiers in shooting and killing Korean officials made many people in the country unable to help but feel shocked and angry.
Speaking at the United Nations on September 22, South Korean President Moon Jae-in called on the world to usher in the era of peace by signing a declaration to end the war between the two Koreas.
But on the same day, North Korean soldiers shot dead a South Korean fisheries officer who disappeared at sea and entered the country, an action that could shatter President Moon Jae-in’s hopes. “positive changes in the world order”.
In theory, Seoul and Pyongyang are still at war because the 1950-1953 Korean War ended only with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
During a press conference on September 25, Suh Hoon, the director of national security for the Green House, said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent a letter to President Moon, apologizing to the Korean people. Quoc and regretted that the fisheries official of this country was shot dead in waters.
Kim Jong-un’s apology came in the context of South Korean public opinion furious at the shooting, especially the information that North Korean soldiers “cremated” the slain official. Moon also promised “not to forgive for any reason” and demanded that Pyongyang take “responsible” action.
Kim Jong-un’s letter provided more details about the shooting. He said North Korean soldiers fired 10 bullets when they found the man “crossing Korean waters”, “without giving his identity and trying to escape.” Later, the soldiers did not find the man’s body and only burned the float he had brought to defend against Covid-19.
However, this apology, while rare, may not be able to ease the anger of the Korean people and the path to peace on the Korean peninsula will surely remain highly uncertain. price evaluation.
President Moon Jae-in speaks in Seoul, South Korea, on August 15. Image: Reuters.
With President Moon following the so-called “Sunshine Policy” in favor of a closer relationship with North Korea, the assassination of the South Korean official is likely to undermine public support. about his strategy of getting closer to Pyongyang, forcing him to take a tougher stance toward North Korea.
This is an entirely new position for President Moon, who for many years has tried to approach North Korea smoothly through economic cooperation and rarely criticizes harshly. in Pyongyang.
“Public opinion in Korea will turn very negative. They are inherently negative, but the recent agreement between North Korea and South Korea is really shocking,” said Go Myong-hyun, a North Korean expert at the Research Institute. Asan policy in Seoul, he said.
The shootings by South Korean officials come after North Korea in mid-June destroyed a joint liaison office, essentially cutting off all communications between the two regions. The latest incident significantly threatens President Moon’s ability to continue to uphold the “Sunlight Policy.”
“The Korean government is sorry, which is why it voiced its criticism,” Go said.
The South Korean Defense Ministry yesterday condemned North Korea’s behavior as “brutal”, demanding that Pyongyang clarify and punish those responsible.
“The incident will delay further reconciliation steps with North Korea,” said Kim Chun-sig, a former South Korean official responsible for overseeing North Korean policies. “The inter-Korean relationship is already at an all-time low.”
According to Washington Examiner newspaper commentator Daniel R. DePetri, President Moon is extremely patient with Pyongyang, but the latest incident has broken its boundaries.
“The journey to peace between the two Koreas has been arduous. Now the slope is even greater. With less than two years in office, President Moon Jae-in now faces two options: Retaliate vigorously and see the dissolution of the inter-Korean peace process or simply speaking without acting and then watching his political prestige plummet when South Korean lawmakers denounce him with insufficient will. , DePetri evaluated. “The Korean government needs to find a middle ground between those two extremes. Time is ticking.”
According to the South Korean Ministry of Defense, a 47-year-old official from the Xishai Fisheries Administration, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, disappeared while in a patrol boat on an offshore inspection mission off Yeonpyeong at noon on September 21st. when it was discovered by Korean soldiers.
According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Korean Joint Forces (JSC), the missing officer is said to have jumped into the sea to escape to North Korea. However, his family and colleagues objected, stating that he had never expressed such wishes. The Korean Coast Guard searched the ship where he was working and found “no signs of his intention to flee,” the media reported.
This is the first time that a South Korean has been shot and killed in North Korea in more than 10 years. In July 2008, South Korean national Park Wang-ja was shot and killed at a Kumgang mountain complex in North Korea while wandering through a restricted area. After the incident, many inter-Korean cooperations were canceled.
In a letter to the South Korean president, the North Korean leader said the incident should not have happened. The fierce shooting action by North Korean soldiers still enraged many South Koreans, including top congressmen.
“Even if they are suspected of being spies, even if they are prisoners of war, North Korea cannot execute them at the scene without such a trial,” Song Young-gil, Member of the Korean Foreign Affairs Commission, writes in Facebook.
Vu hoang (Follow WSJ, national interest, foreign policy)
