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| China-Japan-Koreas | |
| Gag Order Issued Over N.Korean Boat People | |
| 2011-11-10 | |
The National Intelligence Service, the Unification Ministry, the Defense Ministry and the National Police Agency have been ordered to keep mum about the defection of 22 North Koreans across the West Sea on Oct. 30. The unusual order required them not to respond to any interview requests or even correct false reports.
Another government source said, "It seems President Lee Myung-bak flew into a fury when he read news reports about the latest group of North Korean boat people." The NIS, the agency that supervises questioning of North Korean defectors, was reprimanded for frequent security breaches, he added. A government official said the order came "because we concluded that the latest incident will have a negative effect on inter-Korean relations." He suggested that media reports about the defection could needlessly agitate the North Korean regime and lead to a crackdown on defectors along the North Korea-China border area and to ordering border guards to shoot at refugees. But the source said, "It seems the government was worried that news reports about the latest defection by sea could destroy the governmentÂ’s hopes of breaking the stalemate in inter-Korean relations." | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 The truth is simpler. If you talk about defectors, the next batch of defectors are more likely to be killed rather than successfully defect. The same basic problem existed with East Germany. Tyrants are far more concerned about appearances than substance. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2011-11-10 08:29 |