South Korean authorities have found no evidence to support the claim that a fisheries official killed in North Korean waters two years ago was attempting to defect, the defense ministry said Thursday, rejecting the military’s initial assessment of the man’s motives.

The official acknowledgment came just hours after Seoul’s presidential office announced that the National Security Office (NSO) suspended a judicial appeal to block the disclosure of confidential information about North Korea’s killing of Lee Dae-jun.

“The announcement that the murdered official was believed to have attempted to defect to North