Defector humiliates S. Korean military
Source: AFP |
October 11, 2012, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A SOUTH Korean army division faces embarrassing questions after a North Korean soldier traveled unchecked across one of the world's most fortified borders and knocked on a guard post asking for asylum.
The 22nd division based in the northeastern county of Goseong has been placed under disciplinary inspection over the incident on the night of October 2, a Joint Chiefs of Staff official said yesterday.
"Inspectors have confirmed a North Korean soldier knocked on the door of the guard outpost and South Korean soldiers answered the knocks," said the official.
Yonhap news agency said the division could face sweeping disciplinary measures, partly for trying to cover up the circumstances of the soldier's defection.
The defector made his way through rows of electrified fencing dividing the two Koreas under cover of darkness.
South Korean military officials first said he had been detected by surveillance cameras and guided to safety.
"We're investigating how such a (false) report was made," the JCS official said.
A lawmaker from the main opposition Democratic United Party, Kim Kwang-Jin, said the incident highlighted "loose" discipline in the army.
"A North Korean agent armed with grenades or guns could have wiped out an entire platoon of South Korean soldiers," Kim said.
The 22nd division based in the northeastern county of Goseong has been placed under disciplinary inspection over the incident on the night of October 2, a Joint Chiefs of Staff official said yesterday.
"Inspectors have confirmed a North Korean soldier knocked on the door of the guard outpost and South Korean soldiers answered the knocks," said the official.
Yonhap news agency said the division could face sweeping disciplinary measures, partly for trying to cover up the circumstances of the soldier's defection.
The defector made his way through rows of electrified fencing dividing the two Koreas under cover of darkness.
South Korean military officials first said he had been detected by surveillance cameras and guided to safety.
"We're investigating how such a (false) report was made," the JCS official said.
A lawmaker from the main opposition Democratic United Party, Kim Kwang-Jin, said the incident highlighted "loose" discipline in the army.
"A North Korean agent armed with grenades or guns could have wiped out an entire platoon of South Korean soldiers," Kim said.
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