TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th September, 2020) South Korea will strengthen its maritime border with North Korea following the killing of a fisheries official, Deputy Director of the National Security Council Suh Choo-suk said on Thursday.
"The government will strengthen control over the contiguous region between the South and the North, including the five islands of the Western Sea [Yellow Sea] and will take the necessary measures for the safe activities of citizens," Suh said at a news conference in Seoul.
According to reports, the fisheries official, who was reported missing earlier this week, had drifted over the border in an apparent attempt to defect to North Korea, purportedly due to financial troubles. The South Korean military said the North's armed forces intercepted the official, shot him dead and set his body alight. Seoul believes the violent actions were carried out on orders to protect the country's borders from possible importation of COVID-19.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in called the incident shocking and urged Pyongyang to take measures in response to the incident.
