[Editorial] Unsatisfactory Nogun-ri probe result

U.S. President Bill Clinton expressed deep regrets on Friday for the Nogun-ri incident, in which retreating U.S. soldiers fired on and killed or injured a number of innocent civilians in a hamlet near Nogun-ri during the opening days of the Korean War. Subsequently, Defense Secretary William Cohen held a press conference and made public the results of the joint Korea-U.S. investigation of the case. Secretary Cohen also announced that his government would provide one million dollars to build a Nogun-ri memorial and $750,000 to establish a scholarship fund as a living tribute to the memories of those that died. In this regard, we recognize the U.S. president's statement of regret over the incident, which took place during the chaotic opening days of the war some 50 years ago.

However, the outcome of the joint investigation, which was launched on the heels of Associated Press reports on the Nogun-ri "massacre" or killings, stopped far short of meeting our expectations. In the first place, nothing was mentioned in the findings about what prompted U.S. soldiers to fire on the South Korean civilians or the officials responsible for allegedly ordering them to do so. The rationale for looking into the incident and attempting to find out who was responsible for the mishap was to prevent its recurrence and leave a historical lesson.

Secretary Cohen attributed the incident to the chaotic battle conditions at the time, pointing out that the soldiers were young, under-trained, under-equipped and new to combat. He said they had limited combat experience and were under-prepared for the weapons and tactics of the North Korean forces. He added that the U.S. war effort provided the basis for Korea's prosperity and democracy, a statement that appeared to be an attempt to elude responsibility for the massacre. Korea sent expeditionary troops to Vietnam in the 1970s in compliance with a U.S. request and this event promoted a common sense of the values shared by the two war allies.

The U.S. participation in the Korean War may well be assessed in this context. The two nations should not forget that their joint participation in both wars was aimed at safeguarding their common interests. Nonetheless, our position is that apart from the significance of the joint war efforts, the true nature of the killings of noncombatant civilians must be determined.

But the Nogun-ri incident countermeasures committee under the Prime Minister's Office seems to interpret the Clinton statement as an apology for the incident and gave an impression that it was hell-bent on concluding the case as early as possible. In order to demand compensation for the victims, the government will now have to bring the case to the court.

Such a step would be justifiable as part of efforts to restore the rights and support the interests of the survivors and the families of the victims. In this process, the government should render positive support for those involved, based on the conviction that the mutual understanding between Korea and the U.S. can be expanded and their traditional relationship strengthened.