Interview with Lt. Gen. Lee Sang-hee

“Due to many casualties caused by the pre-emptive firing of the enemy, we believe the attack was deliberate”, said Lt. Gen. Lee Sang-hee, chief operations officer for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the press briefing regarding the June 29th naval clash. The following are highlight questions and answers from his press briefing.

- Losses from the clash….

“By the naval gunfire from North Korean patrol boat, one of our speedboat was sunk. Four navy seamen onboard were killed, twenty more were wounded and one seaman is missing in action”.

- Treatment for the casualties….

“Military emergency rescue helicopters, HH60 and HH47 were deployed at the scene. Casualties were transferred to Armed Forces Capital Hospital and are being treated”.

- Reason for heavy losses….

“The North Korean patrol boat has launched an surprise attack by pre-emptive firing. By the initial strike, the wheelhouse of the speedboat was destroyed and a fire broke out. From the heavy damage, we presumed the strike was launched by 85mm naval gun on the North Korean patrol boat, which is its heaviest armament. North Korean patrol boats are armed with 14.5mm machine gun, 37mm and 85mm naval guns. We have to conduct investigation for accurate details.

- The distance between the North Korean patrol boat and our speedboat….

“Approximately 500 yards (495m).”

- Any North Korean fishing boats at the time?

“About thirty North Korean fishing boats were operating on the northern part of NLL. None of the boats crossed the NLL”.

- Simple intrusion or deliberate incursion?

“Is not important. What’s important is that the enemy has open fire first and our speedboat was assaulted leading to many casualties. We believed the attack was deliberate”.

- During the North Korean attack, our speedboats’ responses….

“Another speedboat nearby immediately returned fire. Another two speedboats and additional reinforcement of two speedboats and two patrol ships were immediately deployed at the scene. After a joint counterattack, the North Korean patrol boat was struck with many rounds and it caught flame.

ysh1005@donga.com