S. Korea says another infiltrator killed
Search area expanded to track 3 others
September 30, 1996
Web posted at 1:30p.m.(1730GMT)
SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- South Korean troops killed
another North Korean Monday in their 12-day-old hunt for
infiltrators who came ashore from a submarine, the defense
ministry said. The military also announced it was expanding
its search for three other North Koreans believed still at
large.
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The Defense Ministry said the North Korean was killed in a
gun battle 5 kilometers (3 miles) from where the submarine
was found stranded off South Korea's east coast September 18.
The shooting brought to 22 the number of North Korean
intruders killed or found dead so far. One other was
captured.
Shooting their own men
Five South Korean soldiers also have been killed in the
manhunt, including a 21-year-old army sergeant gunned down
Sunday by his colleagues, who mistook him for an infiltrator.
The North Korean killed Monday was dressed in civilian
clothes and opened fire with a handgun after he was
discovered near a corn field, the Seoul government said. He
fled and was subsequently shot by southern soldiers, it said.
Expanded search
The South Korean military was expanding its dragnet Monday
out of fear that the missing North Koreans might have slipped
past a 60,000-man cordon in place for the past week. The
agent shot Monday was caught within the original cordon, but
it was highly possible that the North Koreans were trying to
return to the north, the ministry said.
Thousands of troops were trucked or airlifted northward
Monday to set up a new cordon that will stretch to the
sensitive border with North Korea. The border is about 100
kilometers (60 miles) from where the submarine was
discovered.
U.S. military helicopters and surveillance equipment are
being used in the search. But a U.S. military spokesman says
no U.S. personnel are actively participating in the ground
operations.
North Korea maintains the submarine drifted into Southern
waters after developing engine trouble on a training
exercise.
But in an announcement Sunday, the South Korean military said
an analysis of equipment and belongings seized from the
North Koreans showed that they were on a mission to prepare
for a larger infiltration operation.
Bureau Chief Sohn Jie-Ae,
The Associated Press and
Reuters contributed to this report.
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