From kirc@igc.apc.org
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 06:48:05 -0700 (PDT)
From: Korea Information & Resource Center/Korea Report 
To: moogoonghwa@UCSD.EDU, wharms@soback.kornet.nm.kr
Cc: kirc@igc.org
Subject: Re: Capture of Lee

Bill, you should "watch out" what you say about this incident over the 
Net, for ROK authorities are tracking down dissenters who use the Net 
to challenge the official version of the incident. (last night's news item)

More questions arise out of this incident:

1) How can SKG be sure that 11 men are executed, and not mass suicide, 
since there was no "eyewitness" when this happened? Just because 
bullets came from the back does not automatically mean that they were 
"executed."

2) The fugitives are portrayed as highly-trained and well-adapted to 
rigorous mountain survival skills, with food supplies in their 
backpack. Then why did one ask a villager for food and salt? Why did he 
reveal his identity and said "I want to go home to the fatherland"? 
Isn't he supposedly to be on a guerilla warfare mission in the South? 
They supposedly know ther terrain of the montains since they can travel 
great distances at ease, yet he asked which way is north?  The SK media 
portrays these men as highly professional and dangerous bunch, yet 
their action seem "amaterurish."

3) AnROK Army division is mobilized on this "operation", aided by 
police, reserve forces. Yet these five men are still not captured. 
Taeback Mountains are not like jungle with heavy foliage which would 
aid guerillas inhiding. A fugitive shot at hovering helicopter and one 
soldier was hit on the head. With all the satelite tracking system and 
oterh communication facilities at hand, how can these men evade capture 
and escape the encroaching circle of ROK soldiers after this incident?
If five NK soldiers can wage a "guerilla warfare" against a whole ROK 
army division, then what would a few hundred of these NK "special 
forces" do to the ROK defense? 

4) It appears, from tv coverage on the "operation", that ROK soldiers 
are randomly shooting at anything that moves, even at night, aided with 
flares. A civilian harvesting mushrooms in thr mountains was shot to 
death for mistaken identity. Are there no attempts to capture these 
fugitives alive and find out what their mission was?

5) SK media selectively covers to bolster theories of SKG and SKM.
For example, on covering State Dept's comments on the incident (20th), 
SK media chose to carry just a comment on US endorsing whatSKG is doing 
about the incident and not carry other comments about US waiting for 
more information about the incident or that it will not affect the 
nuclear accord with NK, etc. The Congress passed budget for allocating 
oil shipment to NK during this incident without objection or link to 
the incident. This info was put in very small column in obscure place 
in the paper-- you would have to search for it. 

Hyuk-Kyo Suh





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