Korea, U.S. discuss handling of Nogun-ri case

Amid disagreements between Korea and the United States on how to deal with the Nogun-ri incident, in which U.S. troops are alleged to have killed scores of Korean civilian refugees during the Korean War, the two countries held a meeting Wednesday to compare the results of investigations that have been ongoing since September.

During the six-hour closed session at the War Memorial in Yongsan, Seoul, delegates from the two sides had a heated discussion on the points at issue, including whether the incident was deliberate, whether there was an order to shoot and what kind of weapons were used.

Since the two sides remain sharply at odds, they are expected to face rough sailing as they work to reach a final outcome in the investigation.

Sources said the U.S. side maintained that the incident was accidental, denying there was an official order from commanders to shoot, while the Korean side stressed that such a U.S. conclusion was totally against the sentiment of the people.

Meanwhile, some 300 members of various civic organizations staged a four-hour protest in which a human chain was formed from the War Memorial to the Eighth U.S. Army Command Post.