Posted on 06/29/2004 9:19:23 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Shooting Death of N. Korean Defector No Accident: NGO
The Durihana Missionary Foundation held a press conference Tuesday to release recorded testimonies of an incident in which a 19-year-old defector named Jeong Choel-hoon was shot to death by a Chinese soldier (reported on April 14) while he was attempting to cross the Sino-Mongolian border along with 23 other defectors.
The testimonies revealed that the incident was not accidental, but the result of indiscriminate shooting.
At the time, the Foreign Ministry said, “The Chinese government informed us that some North Korean defectors attempted to seize the weapons of the Chinese troops who were trying to arrest them and in the process, a defector in his twenties was shot and taken to the hospital, where he died.”
Through records released today, however, Jeong’s father said, “We did not resist or struggle with the Chinese army. We were just running in the direction of Mongolia when they started to shoot us in the back. Then, my son Cheol-hoon suddenly fell down five meters ahead of me and there was blood all over his head and waist. They shot more than 200 bullets, and even after we were captured, they kept beating us with their guns.”
Another defector identified by Lee also stated in the records, “Some 20 Chinese soldiers suddenly started to shoot us in the back. And even after we stopped, they came up close and shot the gun beside a pregnant woman.” He added, “I even heard them say in Chinese that they used 330 bullets.”
During the press conference, the Foundation Chief Chon Ki-won claimed that the incident was not an accidental shooting, as the Chinese government insisted, but an indiscriminate killing. He then added that he asked the Foreign Ministry to conduct its own investigation four times starting in early May, but the ministry had ignored the request so far.
In response, an official from the ministry said, “We have been investigating the incident on our own since the Foundation asked us to, but we have not come to any conclusions yet.” The Foundation said, “Whether Jeong was killed by accident or on purpose will show how China views North Korean defectors. Thus, the government should clearly determine how he was killed.”
Ping!
No surprise here.
Big outrage coming from liberal do-gooders & human rights groups worldwide. Not!
Curious....where does that info in your tagline come from?
US intelligence agencies and others' projections.
Well, it's worse than I've seen written anywhere. Not that I keep up on all the latest info regarding N. Korea's nukes. Scary as hell.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.