The truth behind the previous administration’s repatriation of two North Korean fishermen in 2019 became even murkier on Tuesday as Seoul’s defense and unification ministries partially contradicted claims made by the ruling People Power Party (PPP) concerning the incident.
The pair, who crossed into South Korean waters in the East Sea on Nov. 2, 2019, were forcibly sent back to the North five days later after former President Moon Jae-in’s government concluded they had murdered 16 fellow crew members before fleeing to the South.
Speaking on a Monday radio show just before the hearing, PPP lawmaker Ha Tae-keung repeated allegations that the Moon administration did not seek approval from the United Nations Command (UNC) to return the two fishermen via the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom, the southern side of which is administered by the UNC under the terms of the Korean War armistice.
An official who spoke to the JoongAng Ilbo on condition of anonymity last week said that the South Korean military opened checkpoints under the UNC’s control to repatriate the two men despite the UNC’s objections.
Those claims were contradicted by Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and Unification Minister Kwon Young-se, both of whom said at the National Assembly on Monday that the UNC granted South Korean officials entry into Panmunjom to escort civilians back North.
But both ministries issued clarifications on Tuesday that the UNC approved South Korean officials’ use of Panmunjom for the repatriation process without realizing it was against the fishermen’s will.