COVID-19 Increases North Korea's Aggressiveness, South Korean Officials Who Enter The Border Are Shot And His Bodies Burned

Photo illustration (Nick Bolton / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - A South Korean (South Korean) official was shot dead after crossing the sea border of North Korea (North Korea). The official was previously reported missing in the waters 1.9 kilometers south of the Yeonpyeong Islands on September 21.

Lieutenant General Ahn Young-ho, a high-ranking official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea, said the shot was a staff of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. The South Korean military strongly condemns North Korea's atrocities.

Cruel, they said, because after being shot, the victim's body was burned. Launching CNN, Thursday, September 24, the incident occurred on the island around the maritime border of North Korea and South Korea.

According to South Korean intelligence, the official crossed into North Korean waters before North Korean troops fired shots that killed the official. South Korea urged North Korea to provide an explanation and punish those responsible.

"Our military strongly condemns such atrocities and strongly demands that North Korea provide an explanation and punish those responsible," said General Ahn Young-ho.

Prevent entering COVID-19

The US military commander in South Korea said North Korean troops had been given a "shoot-to-kill order" in an effort to prevent the entry of COVID-19 into the country.

"In addition, we firmly warn that North Korea is responsible for the atrocities committed against our citizens," added Ahn Young-ho.

Tensions have been rising between North and South Korea since communication between the two sides broke down in June. It was the North's first to shut down, before blowing up its joint liaison office in Kaesong, a town on the north side of the border.

The deterioration in relations comes after years of rapprochement led by South Korean President Moon Jae-in resulted in a historic meeting between himself and Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, as well as a summit between Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump.

But the meeting ultimately did not produce significant results for all parties. North Korea has taken an increasingly harsher tone towards its southern neighbor, a change in attitude that came as Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo-jong, moved to a more influential position in the regime.

A similar incident happened before in 2008. A soldier shot a South Korean tourist at the Kumgang ski resort. In 2010, 46 South Korean sailors and two South Korean marines and two civilians were also killed by the North in separate incidents.

North Korea increasingly views it as a threat of contagion of COVID-19 after in July a man who had defected to South Korea for three years crossed back across the closely watched border into North Korea. The man's arrival prompted North Korean officials to lock down border cities and quarantine thousands of people for fear they might catch COVID-19.

Last week, South Korean police arrested a defector who they said had tried to return to North Korea by breaking into a military training ground in Cheorwon, South Korea.