Parliamentary officials in Seoul repudiated the North's explanation of the shooting death of a South Korean fisheries official offered to Seoul last week, saying the South's military wiretapped the North's related communication, including a shoot-to-kill order.
Officials of the National Assembly’s National Defense and Intelligence committees on Tuesday provided a detailed account of the incident based on the South Korean military intelligence.
According to the committee, the South's radio signal surveillance detected the North Korean military’s communication from 3:30 p.m. last Tuesday, including the shoot-to-kill order issued around 9:00 p.m that day, as well as a North Korean naval lieutenant's request for a reconfirmation of that order.
The signal surveillance also detected North Korean military reporting the victim's intent to defect, which was verified via conversation in close proximity with the man at sea.
North Korea had previously claimed in its statement to the South Korean presidential office that the man infiltrated its waters, offered only unclear responses to a repeated request for identification from some 80 meters away, and appeared to flee the scene before he was shot to death.