INQUIRY SOUGHT ON Nogun-ri
Kim Dae-jung believes ties between
SEOUL, South Korea (A)) – Ties between the United States and South Korea could improve if Washington conducts a thorough inquiry into an alleged mass killing of refugees by American soldiers during the Korean War, President Kim Dae-jung said Tuesday.
The way the
"The Nogun-ri
incident is a sensitive issue but all truth should be clearly brought out so
that South Korea-U.S. relations should not be damaged and will instead be
enhanced," Kim was quoted as saying by his chief spokesman, Park
June-young.
The
Caldera arrived
in
After meeting
Kim, Caldera said in a statement that the two countries agreed that the review
of Nogun-ri "should be completed as expeditiously as possible without
sacrificing thoroughness and accuracy."
Also Tuesday, Caldera met Chung Hae-joo, South Korea’s chief government
policy coordinator.
It is clear
that survivors suffered grievously," Caldera said at a joint news conference
with Chung. "The central claim of Nogun-ri makes it unique. That is the claim
that it was an intentional taking of innocent lives.
The Associated
Press, citing dozens of villagers and U.S. veterans, reported in September that
hundreds of Korean civilians were killed at Nogun-ri by American soldiers who
feared North Korean soldiers were infiltrating groups of refugees.
The United
States and South Korea had previously dismissed the claims, but opened
investigations after the AP report was published. Since then, South Koreans have come forward
with more stories of alleged mass killings of civilians by U.S. troops. Historians say Korean forces on both sides of
the conflict committed atrocities.
Caldera told
the AP on Sunday that the United States could not study "every firefight, every
battle" of the war. Caldera said all
loss of life was regrettable, but emphasized the need to establish whether
civilians were killed intentionally.
During the war,
the United States led a 16-nation U.N. force in defending South Korea against
North Korea, which was backed by China and the Soviet Union. About 55,000 Americans were killed and more
than 8,000 are still listed as missing.
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