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Two more North Korean intruders killed in manhunt
September 21, 1996
Web postedat: 11:00 p.m. EDT (0300 GMT)KANGNUNG, South Korea (CNN) -- Two more North Korean agents were killed early Sunday, the Defense Ministry said, as sporadic gunfire crackled across steep ravines on the fifth day of a massive manhunt.
The deaths brought to 20 the number of North Korean intruders killed or found dead since their submarine was discovered marooned off the east coast of South Korea last week.
A South Korean soldier hunting the infiltrators was also killed, the Defense Ministry said.
South Korean troops opened fire shortly after daybreak Sunday when they spotted a North Korean infiltrator on a mountain slope, officials said. The intruder returned fire, killing the South Korean soldier.
The North Korean was killed after a thirty-minute shootout, officials said. It wasn't clear if other North Koreans were involved.
The second North Korean was shot dead in a separate shootout late Saturday, they said.
Thousands of soldiers, assisted by helicopters and tracking dogs, continued the five-day-old manhunt, believing another five North Koreans may still be at large.
On Saturday, two North Korean agents shot and killed a South Korean paratrooper who was pursuing them, and disappeared into the mountains.
One North Korean was captured alive. Lee Kwang-soo, told the South Koreans that he and his comrades were sent to spy on South Korean military installations.
Officials believe that 26 North Koreans were aboard the submarine. Eleven were discovered shot to death on Wednesday, apparently by AK-47 assault rifles.
South Korean intelligence originally thought the eleven had died in a suicide pact, but now believe they were murdered by their fellow commandos. The AK-47 rifles, standard equipment in North Korea, were found on the scene.
Another seven North Koreans were killed in three separate gun battles with South Korean soldiers on Thursday. The shootouts all occurred about 20 miles (30 km) northwest of the reef where the submarine ran aground, and the North Koreans were believed to be trying to reach the border between the two countries.
Lee reportedly told South Korean officials that seven more of his comrades -- guides, guerrillas and submarine crewmen -- remained at large.
Searchers spotted two North Koreans Saturday morning near the top of a 2,900 foot mountain, but they escaped into the wilderness after the gun battle that killed the South Korean soldier.
During the pursuit, loudspeakers on army vehicles broadcast a recorded message from Lee pleading with his colleagues to give themselves up.
"I am alive and safe," the recording said. "Our mission has already been finished. I want you to surrender and find a new life along with me in the Republic of Korea (South Korea)."
No comment from North Korea
North Korea has still issued no comment on the incident, rejecting a United Nations demand for an explanation.
The captured North Korean told South Korean officials that the submarine has made annual infiltrations from its home port of Wonsan since 1994. The two Koreas are still technically at war since the signing of an armistice ceasing overt hostilities in 1953.
Earlier this year, North Korea announced that it would no longer observe the terms of the armistice.
The United States, which joined with South Korea in April to push for peace talks to end the tensions on the Korean peninsula, condemned the infiltration as provocative.
But South Korean Foreign Minister Gong Ro-myung said that South Korea was still committed to the proposed peace talks, which would involve both Koreas, China and the U.S.
"There will be no change in the government's original position pressing for four-way talks to obtain peace on the Korean peninsula," he said.
But Gong warned that humanitarian aide to North Korea -- which is nearing famine in some parts after disastrous flooding -- could be in jeopardy.
Seoul Bureau Chief Sohn Jie-Ae and The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- S. Korean forces trade fire with infiltrators - September 20, 1996
- 7 more North Koreans shot dead in South - September 19, 1996
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