S. Korea's defense minister apologizes for N. Korea boat lapse
- 5 years ago
정부, 北어선 NLL남하사건 관련 합동조사결과 발표
A probe into a North Korean boat that crossed into South Korean waters undetected last month has found that there were flaws in the military's surveillance operations.
Before announcing the results, South Korea's defense minister again apologized for the lapse in border security.
Kim Ji-yeon reports.
South Korea's defense minister Jeong Kyeong-doo has apologized again for the security failure last month that allowed a North Korean boat to cross into South Korean waters undetected for several days.
Jeong was speaking to the press Wednesday just ahead of the announcement of the results of a probe into the matter... which was initiated two weeks ago after the military was heavily criticized for its handling of the incident.
In order to prevent similar incidents happening in the future, the government vowed to boost the capabilities of those operating surveillance equipment and to replace aging equipment at an early date.
"Through the probe, it was confirmed that there was a grave mistake by the military in terms of border security... which is unacceptable in any circumstances. As a result, it's been decided that those responsible will be reprimanded."
Jeong relieved the commander of the Army Corps in charge of monitoring maritime radar... for failing to discern the boat picked by military equipment and closed-circuit televisions set up around the port,... instead mistaking it for a reflective wave.
The ministry gave a warning to the commander of the Joint Chiefs of Staff... as well as the commanders of ground and naval Operations Command... while referring the head of the army infantry division and the navy's fleet in charge of the area's maritime surveillance to the military's disciplinary committee.
On claims the military had concealed information about the incident, the probe results indicated there was no cover-up... saying the usage of terms "in the vicinity of" the port was in consideration of military security circumstances.
The military had first implied the boat was drifting at sea off the east coast... but admitted later that the boat had reached the shore.
The boat carrying four North Koreans had first crossed the de facto maritime border, the Northern Limit Line, on June 12th... and reached South Korea's eastern port of Samcheok on June 15th.
They were first found by a group of South Korean civilians who reported the boat to local police.
Two North Koreans have defected to the South, the remaining two were sent back to the North through the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjeom... some three days after arriving in Samcheok.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.
A probe into a North Korean boat that crossed into South Korean waters undetected last month has found that there were flaws in the military's surveillance operations.
Before announcing the results, South Korea's defense minister again apologized for the lapse in border security.
Kim Ji-yeon reports.
South Korea's defense minister Jeong Kyeong-doo has apologized again for the security failure last month that allowed a North Korean boat to cross into South Korean waters undetected for several days.
Jeong was speaking to the press Wednesday just ahead of the announcement of the results of a probe into the matter... which was initiated two weeks ago after the military was heavily criticized for its handling of the incident.
In order to prevent similar incidents happening in the future, the government vowed to boost the capabilities of those operating surveillance equipment and to replace aging equipment at an early date.
"Through the probe, it was confirmed that there was a grave mistake by the military in terms of border security... which is unacceptable in any circumstances. As a result, it's been decided that those responsible will be reprimanded."
Jeong relieved the commander of the Army Corps in charge of monitoring maritime radar... for failing to discern the boat picked by military equipment and closed-circuit televisions set up around the port,... instead mistaking it for a reflective wave.
The ministry gave a warning to the commander of the Joint Chiefs of Staff... as well as the commanders of ground and naval Operations Command... while referring the head of the army infantry division and the navy's fleet in charge of the area's maritime surveillance to the military's disciplinary committee.
On claims the military had concealed information about the incident, the probe results indicated there was no cover-up... saying the usage of terms "in the vicinity of" the port was in consideration of military security circumstances.
The military had first implied the boat was drifting at sea off the east coast... but admitted later that the boat had reached the shore.
The boat carrying four North Koreans had first crossed the de facto maritime border, the Northern Limit Line, on June 12th... and reached South Korea's eastern port of Samcheok on June 15th.
They were first found by a group of South Korean civilians who reported the boat to local police.
Two North Koreans have defected to the South, the remaining two were sent back to the North through the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjeom... some three days after arriving in Samcheok.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.