Army criticized over DMZ defection

The 22nd Army Division is in hot water over the Oct. 26 defection of a man to North Korea, defense sources said yesterday.

Officers, possibly the division commander, are expected to be replaced or punished, military sources said.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff has dispatched an emergency inspection team to Gangwon Province where the nation`s most forefront division is located, just below the Demilitarized Zone.

"Minister Kim Tae-young also viewed this as a serious incident and ordered a thorough investigation," said Won Tae-jae, spokesman for the Defense Ministry.

The 22nd Army Division was in charge of defense in the area where Kang Tong-rim, a 30-year-old South Korean man cut through barbed wire to cross the border to the North.



Kang previously served his mandatory military service under the 22nd Army Division.

The division commander had just a week left to retire, after which he was expected to await a possible promotion, according to military sources.

Kang cut a 30 centimeter by 40 centimeter hole through the wires dividing the two Koreas to defect to the North on Monday, according to Pyongyang`s state-run broadcaster on Tuesday.

The South Korean military confirmed that it also believes Kang crossed over to North Korean soil through the hole he cut through the wire. He wanted by the police on battery charges.

The military reportedly had not been aware of Kang`s defection. It was the first time since 2004 that a South Korean civilian has crossed via the guarded fences.

Defection from the South to the North also has been quite rare, with only several noted cases.

The timing of the defection was unfortunate, as it comes as the two Koreas are gearing up for talks, but experts dismissed the possibility of the incident having any long term side-effects.

"The South probably will not even ask for an extradition, unless Kang turns out to be a dangerous criminal or political dissident. So other than that it makes South Korea look foolish, and that the North was given a chance to gloat, no real changes," said Professor Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies here.

He added that the two Koreas will try to gloss over the incident as soon as possible for fear of dampening the momentum for talks.

Speculation has it that an inter-Korean summit is impending, as officials from the two sides appear to have met for a preliminary conference earlier this month in Singapore.

Dialogue seems to be on the minds of both President Lee Myung-bak and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, who has recently signaled his willingness to return to the six-nation talks depending on the results of a bilateral discussion Pyongyang is seeking with Washington regarding its denuclearization.

(jemmie@heraldm.com)



By Kim Ji-hyun