Kim Jong Un has apparently opened an investigation into the death of a South Korean official shot dead by sailors from the Communist country.
Officials from the National Intelligence Service hinted at the move, which comes on the heels of a rare apology from Kim over the fatal incident in September.
“According to intelligence, there are circumstantial signs of (North Korea) carrying out a search for the body (of the slain official),” an NIS official said, Yonhap News Agency reported.
“(NIS) detected circumstantial signs indicating that Chairman Kim ordered a probe into details of the incident,” the official said.
The 47-year-old government official vanished from a boat on Sept. 21 that was carrying 18 other South Korean officials investigating potential illegal fishing in the Yellow Sea.
Kim claimed the man didn’t comply with one soldier’s demands that he identify himself, resulting in about 10 shots being fired. Other North Korean officials said soldiers shot and killed an “illegal intruder.”
Soldiers then soaked the victim’s body in gasoline and burned it, as per the North’s strict guidelines to contain coronavirus.
Three days later, the North alerted the South that it was launching an internal probe into the case, then reduced the use of communication networks to prevent leaks of information.
South Korea, meanwhile, has called for a joint investigation into the official’s death — a move that’s never happened before.