North Korean troops killed missing South Korean official, burned body, Seoul says

[Mary Wilson]

SEPTEMBER 23, 20206:42 PMUPDATED 18 HOURS AGO

By Josh Smith, Hyonhee Shin

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean troops shot dead a South Korean fisheries official who went missing earlier this week, before dousing his body in oil and setting it on fire in what was likely an effort to prevent a coronavirus outbreak, South Korea’s military said on Thursday.

CORONAVIRUS FEARS

The U.S. military commander in South Korea said this month that North Korean troops had been given “shoot-to-kill orders” to prevent the coronavirus entering the country.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-n...-idUSKCN26E3NY

[Mary Wilson]

North Korean leader offers rare apology for killing of South Korean

SEPTEMBER 25, 20208:04 AM UPDATED 3 HOURS AGO

By Hyonhee Shin, Sangmi Cha
4 MIN READ

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un apologised on Friday for the shooting death of a South Korean man to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, the South’s national security adviser said, as public and political outrage over the killing grew.

The apology came in a letter from the North’s United Front Department, which handles cross-border ties, to South Korean President Moon Jae-in a day after South Korean officials said the North’s soldiers killed the man, doused his body in fuel and set it on fire.

The rare conciliatory message from the North Korean leader came as Moon faced intense political fallout over the incident, which coincided with a renewed push by him for engagement with North Korea.

https://www.reuters.com/article/nort...-idUSL3N2GM19T