On Sept. 22, 2020, North Korea shot and killed a South Korean fisheries official who ended up in DPRK waters. Last Friday, nearly two years after the incident, a South Korean court officially declared the man dead.

The belated ruling paves the way for the family of Lee Dae-jun to pursue legal action against former Moon Jae-in government officials and North Korea for what they call the murder of the late public official.

“My brother used to be a ‘missing’ person until last week, but now he is officially deceased,” Lee Rae-jin, the victim’s brother, explained to NK Newson