"월북 미군, 한국서 폭행 혐의로 체포됐다 최근 풀려나" Lingering tensions in Panmunjom

[정승남세기영어교육연구회장]

Lingering tensions in Panmunjom underline uncertainties in inter-Korean ties

"월북 미군, 한국서 폭행 혐의로 체포됐다 최근 풀려나"

Yi Wonju All News 19:18 July 19, 2022 Yonhap News

By Yi Wonju
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PAJU/SEOUL, July 19 (Joint Press Corps-Yonhap) -- About four years ago, the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom was brimming with renewed hopes for peace, as a rare summit between the two Koreas took place there, diluting its image of cross-border tension, albeit temporarily.
But such hopes appeared to be fading amid COVID-19 and uncertainties in inter-Korean ties, as reporters on Tuesday's media tour saw North Korean troops wary of cross-border contact and unruly weeds seeming like a sign of Seoul's hitherto unfruitful peace endeavors.
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Reporters were invited to Panmunjom and other parts of the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, as public tours there resumed after a six-month hiatus on eased COVID-19 restrictions.
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Panmunjom was a highlight of the media event, as it was where then South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held their first summit in April 2018 and where they joined then U.S. President Donald Trump for a historic three-way encounter in June 2019.
The mood of peace at the site was hardly felt, as the North has staged a series of provocative acts, like missile launches, this year, with current South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol taking a tough stance on its saber-rattling.
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Unlike in the past when the prying eyes of North Korean troops kept track of people south of the Military Demarcation Line, none were seen outdoors, a change since the outbreak of the pandemic, according to Lt. Col Griff Hofman, an International Political and Military Affairs Officer at the U.N. Command (UNC).
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If necessary, North Korean troops come out, wearing full protective clothing, he said.
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A North Korean official at the Panmungak building, located on the northern side of the truce village of Panmunjom, looks out through the window with a camera facing the South Korean side on July 19, 2022, as tours to the area resumed on July 12. (Yonhap)
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For over two years, North Korean personnel were only spotted looking out from the balcony of Panmungak, a North Korea-controlled building, taking pictures, or watching the South Korean side of Panmunjom through binoculars.
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Overgrown plants and grass on the North's side, largely kept well-trimmed before the pandemic, also indicated they have been keeping the area unattended -- a reminder of inter-Korean ties that have been stalled for years amid a deadlock in nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang.
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Before reaching the Panmunjom area, reporters stopped by a guard post, from which the indistinct sight of Kaesong, the North's border village, came into view.
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That sight marked yet another sobering reminder of where inter-Korean relations lie at this point.
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The inter-Korean industrial complex there, once a key symbol of bilateral rapprochement, was suspended in February 2016. Kaesong is also home to a joint liaison office that the North blew up in 2020 in anger over the sending of anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border
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During the tour, another sight that caught reporters' attention was the ongoing reconstruction of a bridge used as a venue for talks between Moon and Kim during their 2018 summit there.
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The bridge was originally established to connect the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission camp -- an entity to preserve the armistice that halted the 1950-53 Korean War -- to Conference Row in the Joint Security Area (JSA).
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But ahead of the inter-Korean summit in April 2018, a T-section was added there to enable the outdoor conversation between the two.
Reporters also paid keen attention to the border line, through which South Korean authorities forcibly repatriated two North Korean fishermen against their will in November 2019.
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The repatriation is now at the center of a political controversy as the Yoon administration revisited it amid criticism the Moon administration failed to go through due legal procedures for the protection of the North Koreans, though they were suspects in a murder case.
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The UNC did not mention the case during the tour as reporters approached the blue T2 building, near which the repatriation took place, as seen in video footage recently released by the unification ministry.
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The JSA is an area that is intended for inter-Korean dialogue but is also a place where the risk of danger always exists, Hofman told reporters, as the tour came to an end.
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Tours to the program will be held daily at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, with up to 40 people per tour.

South Korean and U.S. soldiers are on guard at the Joint Security Area of the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom on July 19, 2022, when its tour reopened after years of suspension due to the pandemic. The Defense Daily provided this photo. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Grass appears to be overgrown on the North Korean side at the Joint Security Area of the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom on July 19, 2022, as its tour reopened after years of suspension due to the pandemic, in this photo provided by the Defense Daily. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

South Korean and U.S. soldiers are on guard at the Joint Security Area of the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom on July 19, 2022, as its tour reopened after years of suspension due to the pandemic. (Yonhap)
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julesyi@yna.co.kr
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(END)

"월북 미군, 한국서 폭행 혐의로 체포됐다 최근 풀려나"

정다빈입력 2023. 7. 19. 08:09 MBN

미 대변인 "바이든 면밀히 주시 중"

판문점 / 사진 = 매일경제 DB

미국 정부가 판문점 공동경비구역(JSA) 미군 장병이 자기 의지로 북한으로 넘어간 것이라고 공식 확인했습니다.

현지 시간 18일 로이드 오스틴 미 국방장관은 우크라이나 국방연락그룹 화상회의 후 가진 기자회견에서 "우리 군인 중 한 명이 (JSA를) 견학하던 중 고의로 허가 없이 군사분계선을 넘었다"고 밝혔습니다.

아울러 "우리는 북한이 그의 신병을 확보했다고 믿는다"며 "상황을 면밀히 모니터링하고 조사 중이며, 그의 가까운 친척에게 상황을 알리고 사건을 해결하기 위해 노력하고있다"고 말했습니다.

카린 장-피에르 백악관 대변인 역시 이날 브리핑을 통해 "미군이 자발적으로 허가 없이 국경을 넘었다"며 "현재 미 국방부가 북한의 카운터파트 및 이번 사건에 협력 중인 사람들과 접촉하고 있다"고 전했습니다.

그러면서 "조 바이든 대통령은 상황을 보고받았으며, 면밀히 주시하고 있다"고 설명했습니다.

워싱턴포스트(WP)에 따르면 이 군인은 폭행 혐의로 체포됐다가 최근 한국의 감옥에서 풀려났습니다.

이후 추가 징계를 받기 위해 텍사스주 포트블리스로 이송될 예정이었던 그는 실제로 공항까지 호송됐으나, 비행기에 탑승하는 대신 JSA 견학에 참여하게 된 것입니다.

CBS가 인터뷰한 같은 투어 그룹에 속해 있던 목격자는 "판문점의 한 건물을 견학했을 때, 이 남성이 갑자기 크게 '하하하' 웃더니 건물 사이로 뛰어갔다"고 당시 상황을 설명했습니다.

목격자는 "처음에는 농담하는 줄 알았는데 그가 돌아오지 않자 농담이 아니라는 걸 깨달았다"며 "이후 모두가 동요하며 난리가 나기 시작했다"고 전했습니다.

사건 발생 직후 유엔군 사령부는 관할하던 판문점 견학 프로그램을 취소했습니다.

유엔사는 평소 일주일에 4회(화·수·금·토), 한 번에 40명씩 한국인과 미국인 등을 대상으로 JSA 견학 프로그램을 운영했습니다.

[정다빈 디지털뉴스 기자 chung.dabin@mbn.co.kr]

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