SEOUL – North Korean forces shot dead a South Korean fisheries official who disappeared off a patrol vessel and ended up in Pyongyang’s waters, Seoul’s defense ministry said Thursday.
The 47-year-old man had been on board a vessel near the western border island of Yeonpyeong, the ministry said in a statement.
After analyzing intelligence, the South Korean military had “confirmed that the North fired at a South Korean national found in the northern seas and cremated his body,” it said.
It was not immediately clear how the man came to be in the water. Earlier reports said that his shoes were found on board the patrol vessel, leading to speculation he may have been trying to defect.(AFP)
