Yonhap News | By Oh Seok-min
SEOUL, May 13 (Yonhap) — South Korea has secured “decisive” evidence that North Korea’s recent shooting at one of its guard posts across the border was not intentional, sources said Wednesday.
The assessment is in line with the United States’ determination that the incident was “accidental.”
On May 3, at least four bullets from the North hit the South’s guard post at the central part of the Demilitarized Zone in Cheorwon prompting the South Korean troops to fire back, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
“I cannot tell you details, but we’ve secured evidence from various intelligence sources, including circumstantial ones, that it was accidental,” a senior JCS officer told reporters, explaining the results of its probe into the case.
The official later described the evidence as “decisive.”
Other sources said the evidence, which includes signals intelligence (SIGINT), has been shared with the U.S. On the day of the incident, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an interview with ABC News that he believes the incident was “accidental.”
The JCS officer also pointed out that the North did not take any specific action despite the South’s shooting at its guard post.
“If they had recognized the situation seriously, they should have prepared for action, just as we had done at that time. But no such specific moves, like wearing iron helmets, have been detected,” he said. “Civilians near the scene were also spotted doing their farm work just as usual in the day.”
The shooting took place at a time when North Korean soldiers usually rotate shifts and check their firearms or equipment, raising chances of accidental firings, another JCS officer said.
It was foggy, and the North’s guard post is topographically lower than the South Korean one, which are unfavorable conditions for the North to be provocative, he added.
North Korea remains mum, though South Korea sent a notice lodging a strong complaint and calling for an immediate explanation after the incident, according to the defense ministry.
“We communicate with North Korea twice a day via military hotlines, and we raised the issue through this channel before. We are waiting for their responses,” a ministry official said.
The U.S.-led United Nations Command, which administers the buffer zone and enforces the Armistice Agreement, said it dispatched a multinational special investigation team to the scene to determine if any violation of the pact that halted the 1950-53 Korean War took place during the gunfire.
“UNC has been looking into the case. After the results come, we can make a final conclusion,” the JCS officer noted.
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