Korean Job Discussion Forums

[keysbottles]

I heard that a Korean civilian ran down two Korean soldiers, killing one, took their weapons etc., later burned his auto and high jacked another and is still at large. The Osan and Humphrey bases are on lock down. Anyone have current info?

[huffdaddy]

From what I heard, they're worried he might be a NORK infiltrator. Armed with a briefcase sized dirty bomb. Don't know if it's true or not, but I'm glad I'm upwind from Seoul.

[sojourner1]

That seems unlikely that a NORK did this as they are trying to establish ties with South Korea and are making unprecedented strides recently such as the railroad connecting the 2 counties. We will have to wait and hear what happened?

[keysbottles]

My daughter-in-law teaches for the DOD and she was told to stay home until they catch this nut. My bunch all live in the Pyongtaek area. I guess we will watch a lot of TV this weekend.

[Ya-ta Boy]

The incident happened on Ganghwa-do, near Incheon.

The speculation about it being a NORK is based on past experience. The NORKs regularly pee on South Korea's parade. If you remember, the battle in the West Sea that killed 6 sailors happened during the World Cup, for one example.

The NORKs really, really do not want a conservative to win the election week after next. This incident could be the NORKs' temper tantrum for what is certain to be a conservative victory.

[happeningthang]

There was a prior case where a couple of gangsters, basically mugged some 20something conscripts for their guns in Gangwon-do.

Could just be more of the same.

[kermo]

At this point, it's not clear who this guy is.

Today I was in a car somewhere between Yongin and Osan, and there was a serious military checkpoint going on-- boys carrying rifles, in full war paint. One of them seemed to be holding a photo, so perhaps they have a suspect in mind.

Here's the last I've heard from the Korean media:

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2007/12/117_15133.html

His charred SUV was found near Hwaseong (around Suwon, roughly speaking) along with another car, so they figure he may not be acting alone.

[CentralCali]

Story in the December 9, 2007 Stars & Stripes (Pacific Edition). Note also the history of such thefts listed in the box on the right.

[kermo]

First it was reported as a tank. Then the police say they've found his SUV. Stars and Stripes is calling it a Jeep?

Goes to show, you can't believe everything you read...

[nautilus]

January 1968 31 armed North Korean guerillas entered the South disguised as South Korean soldiers with plans to assassinate President Pak Chong-hui of South Korea and other top officials. They engaged in a gunfight with South Korean authorities in the streets near the Presidential Palace (Chong Wa Dae), causing many South Korean casualties. Most of the armed guerillas were shot to death by the South Korean authorities, and only one was arrested.

September 1996 armed agents infiltrated South Korean territory. Some were found dead in a nearby mountain, and others were shot to death by the South Korean army.

Since the division of the peninsula, North Korea has used subversion and sabotage against South Korea as part of its effort at reunification. Historically, the military part of this effort has centered on military infiltration, border incidents designed to raise tensions, and psychological warfare operations aimed at the South Korean armed forces. Infiltration by North Korean military agents was commonplace in South Korea after the armistice in 1953. Over time, however, there were clear shifts in emphasis, method, and apparent goals. P'yongyang initially sent agents to gather intelligence and to build a revolutionary base in South Korea.

The 1960s saw a dramatic shift to violent attempts to destabilize South Korea, including commando raids and incidents along the DMZ that occasionally escalated into firefights involving artillery. The raids peaked in 1968, when more than 600 infiltrations were reported, including an unsuccessful commando attack on the South Korean presidential mansion by thirty-one members of North Korea's 124th Army Unit. The unit came within 500 meters of the president's residence before being stopped. During this incident, twenty-eight infiltrators and thirty-seven South Koreans were killed. That same year, 120 commandos infiltrated two east coast provinces in an unsuccessful attempt to organize a Vietnamese-type guerrilla war. In 1969 over 150 infiltrations were attempted, involving almost 400 agents. Thereafter, P'yongyang's infiltration efforts abated somewhat, and the emphasis reverted to intelligence gathering, covert networks, and terrorism.

Subsequent incidents of North Korean terrorism focused on the assassination of the South Korean president or other high officials. In November 1970, an infiltrator was killed while planting a bomb intended to kill South Korean president Park Chung Hee at the Seoul National Cemetery. In 1974 a Korean resident of Japan visiting Seoul killed Park's wife in another unsuccessful presidential assassination attempt.

From the mid-1970s to the early 1980s, most North Korean infiltration was conducted by heavily armed reconnaissance teams. These were increasingly intercepted and neutralized by South Korean security forces.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/north_korea2.htm

S. Korea searches for possible spies from North
July 12, 1998
http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/asiapcf/9807/12/koreas.body.found/

[cbclark4]

November 29, 1987: KAL Flight 858 bombed by North Korea.

[loose_ends]

I heard the guy was caught.

Can anyone confirm this?

[thepeel]

Yes, he was caught. He's an interior designer. Strange.

[igotthisguitar]

Was he on TV? What was his problem? Anger management problems? His b/f dumped him?

Not a Nork then either, eh?

If not, a lotta wild speculation on the thread here seems to have been completely "off base"

[ED209]