From wharms@soback.kornet.nm.kr
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 03:13:25 -0900
From: Bill Harms 
To: moogoonghwa@UCSD.EDU
Subject: North Korea Demands Return of Submarine and Crew

The full North Korean Statement is available at
http://www.kimsoft.com/korea/11dead.htm if anyone is interested. 

Comment: I find it interesting and not surprising that the North described
the South in their statement as the "enemy side's land." I guess they still
feel they are at war........    

My question is, if this submarine did indeed stray after developing engine
trouble (I admit this is plausible), why did not the north come right and
and say so, apologize for the incident and go from there? So much for
confidence building....

It seems to me that the North and the South, _both_ ought be finding ways to
build confidence and trust in each other if they truly want to reconcile
with each other. It seems that many folks on both sides are satisfied with
the status quo. Why? Any thoughts anyone?

In Korean, the word I have heard my Korean friends use for confidence is
"Shilloe" as opposed to "Midum."

--------------------------SNIP-------------------------

North Korea Demands Return of Submarine and Crew

96-09-23 18:54:00 Korea Times

TOKYO (Reuter) _ North Korea demanded on Monday the immediate return of a
submarine, which it said had strayed accidentally into South Korean waters,
along with its crew and the bodies of those shot dead. 

It was Pyongyang's first direct statement on a drama that began on Wednesday
when an estimated 26 North Koreans landed by submarine on an East Coast
beach near the city of Kangnung. 

South Korea has described the incident as an armed provocation. 

A statement carried by North Korea's official Korea Central News Agency said
the submarine was on a training mission and had drifted into South Korean
waters after developing engine trouble. 

``The South side must unconditionally return to the North the submarine and
its crew including the dead bodies at once,'' the spokesman for the Ministry
of the People's Armed Forc es said in a statement. 

So far, Southern forces have killed nine infiltrators and found bodies of 11
others believed to have been killed by their own colleagues. One has been
captured alive and a hunt is underway for five thought to be still on the
loose. 

``A training small submarine of a Korean People's Army unit which left
Wonsan port on Sept. 13 and engaged in a routine training on the North's
East Sea might drift about with an engine trouble and strike a rock on the
sea off Kangnung,'' the poorly-worded statement said. 

``It seemed that its crew were left with no other choice but to get to the
enemy side's land, which might cause an armed conflict.'' 

The submarine carried no heavy weapons and there were only small arms on
board, according to the statement, which matched in important detail the
account given to interrogators by the captured North Korean. 

The captured agent also said engine trouble was to blame. 

Seoul has said it found heavy artillery on board the submarine, and the
Defense Ministry has speculated the vessel may have been engaged in a
commando exercise, possibly to blow up key installations. 








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