The Yoon administration received “no information” from the outgoing Moon government about the 2019 repatriation of two North Korean fishermen, a government official claimed Monday, telling reporters that the lack of documentation has hamstrung National Security Office (NSO) efforts to investigate the incident.
While the high-level official in the president’s office did not go as far as to suggest a deliberate cover-up, the remarks follow another unnamed presidential official’s allegation earlier this month that the Moon administration may have deleted or compromised information related to the 2019 repatriations, telling South Korean broadcaster SBS that the current government
The Yoon administration received “no information” from the outgoing Moon government about the 2019 repatriation of two North Korean fishermen, a government official claimed Monday, telling reporters that the lack of documentation has hamstrung National Security Office (NSO) efforts to investigate the incident.
While the high-level official in the president’s office did not go as far as to suggest a deliberate cover-up, the remarks follow another unnamed presidential official’s allegation earlier this month that the Moon administration may have deleted or compromised information related to the 2019 repatriations, telling South Korean broadcaster SBS that the current government has no record of meetings that officials had at the time.
Jeongmin Kim is the Lead Correspondent at NK News, based in Seoul. Kim covers inter-Korean and DPRK-related foreign, defense and humanitarian affairs, and has covered the 2022 ROK Presidential election on the ground. Prior to joining NK News, she worked for the CSIS Korea Chair in Washington D.C. and Reuters news agency's Seoul bureau. Follow her on Twitter @jeongminnkim