S. Korean defense chief apologizes
Source: Agencies |
October 16, 2012, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
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.
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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