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October 16, 2012

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S. Korean defense chief apologizes

SOUTH Korea's defense chief apologized publicly and dismissed three officers yesterday after his military failed to spot a North Korean soldier crossing their heavily guarded border to defect.

No one detected the soldier - even though he scaled barbed wire fences on the South Korean side of the border - until he knocked on the door of front-line South Korean barracks to say he was defecting. The October 2 incident raised serious questions about South Korea's military surveillance capabilities.

Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin told a news conference he "deeply" apologizes for causing public concern over the defection.

"There were an obvious failure in security operations and faults in situation-reporting systems," Kim said.

Fourteen officers, including five at the general level, will be investigated for possible punishment over the incident, ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said.





 

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