South Korea marine goes on killing spree at border base
Source: Agencies |
July 5, 2011, Tuesday
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A CORPORAL in South Korea's marine corps went on a shooting rampage yesterday, killing four fellow marines and wounding another on a Yellow Sea island base near the country's tense border with North Korea, officials said.
The corporal was taken into custody on Ganghwa Island, about 70 kilometers west of Seoul, but his motives remained unknown and the shooting was being investigated, Defense Ministry officials said.
The 19-year-old corporal, surnamed Kim, was also wounded, but it was unclear whether he tried to kill himself or was injured when he was apprehended, according to officials.
One of the slain marines was an officer, while the others were rank-and-file marines, the officials said.
A serviceman died on the way to a nearby hospital, they said.
The weapon in the shooting could not be identified immediately, officials said. And after earlier indicating no explosives were involved, they later said one grenade exploded during the rampage.
They could not immediately verify a report by local broadcaster YTN that Kim detonated the grenade to kill himself.
South Korea stations hundreds of marines on frontline islands within easy striking distance of North Korea. Last year, North Korea shelled a South Korean island, killing two civilians and two marines.
The waters are claimed by both countries. Boats routinely jostle for position during crab-catching season, and three deadly naval clashes since 1999 have resulted in several dozen deaths.
The tension has sometimes taken its toll on the marines, who would bear the brunt of a North Korean attack.
The South Korean military has beefed up marines' combat readiness on a cluster of bases in the Yellow Sea and increased high-tech weapons systems on the islands facing North Korea.
The latest shooting is the worst to happen in South Korea's military since 2005, when a soldier tossed a hand grenade and opened fire at a frontline army unit in a shooting rampage that left eight colleagues dead and several others injured.
Kim Dong-min later told investigators he went on the killing spree after being enraged by superiors who had verbally abused him.
The shooting raised questions about the level of discipline in South Korea's 650,000-member military.
All able-bodied South Korean men must serve about two years in the military under a conscription system aimed at deterring aggression from North Korea.
The corporal was taken into custody on Ganghwa Island, about 70 kilometers west of Seoul, but his motives remained unknown and the shooting was being investigated, Defense Ministry officials said.
The 19-year-old corporal, surnamed Kim, was also wounded, but it was unclear whether he tried to kill himself or was injured when he was apprehended, according to officials.
One of the slain marines was an officer, while the others were rank-and-file marines, the officials said.
A serviceman died on the way to a nearby hospital, they said.
The weapon in the shooting could not be identified immediately, officials said. And after earlier indicating no explosives were involved, they later said one grenade exploded during the rampage.
They could not immediately verify a report by local broadcaster YTN that Kim detonated the grenade to kill himself.
South Korea stations hundreds of marines on frontline islands within easy striking distance of North Korea. Last year, North Korea shelled a South Korean island, killing two civilians and two marines.
The waters are claimed by both countries. Boats routinely jostle for position during crab-catching season, and three deadly naval clashes since 1999 have resulted in several dozen deaths.
The tension has sometimes taken its toll on the marines, who would bear the brunt of a North Korean attack.
The South Korean military has beefed up marines' combat readiness on a cluster of bases in the Yellow Sea and increased high-tech weapons systems on the islands facing North Korea.
The latest shooting is the worst to happen in South Korea's military since 2005, when a soldier tossed a hand grenade and opened fire at a frontline army unit in a shooting rampage that left eight colleagues dead and several others injured.
Kim Dong-min later told investigators he went on the killing spree after being enraged by superiors who had verbally abused him.
The shooting raised questions about the level of discipline in South Korea's 650,000-member military.
All able-bodied South Korean men must serve about two years in the military under a conscription system aimed at deterring aggression from North Korea.
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