09-151.pdf

The UNC/MAC claimed that the men were discovered at a place
that could only be reached from the sea and were armed like previous
intruders. They also wore fake South Korean uniforms and were shot
to death, not drowned as the North asserted. There were 639 personal
effects, including a rifle and a pistol, the latter made only in North
Korea. Prior to the meeting, the MAC channel had provided North
Korea with information about its own forces. On May 16, the
KPA/CPV Senior Member telephoned his UNC/MAC counterpart to
ask for the return of any “bodies” that might be found along the east
coast, although the request amounted to an admission of the North’s
armistice violation. Previously, when the UNC had offered the return
of killed North Korean soldiers in 1967-68, the KPA/CPV Senior
Member either completely ignored the offer or responded that they
were young South Koreans who had fought against South Korea and
the US. He claimed that some North Korean military personnel were
unaccounted for after a training exercise on the evening of May 14, and
at the request of the UNC, the KPA/CPV Senior Member gave the
name, age and service number of the three soldiers.
By the time of the meeting, the South Korean media had already
reported that a team of three armed North Korean infiltrators had been
intercepted on May 15 on an east coast beach, that one was killed in
the ensuing gunfire and that the other two fled. There were speculations
that the men had become disoriented during training and
crossed the line. Clothing, equipment and weapons were typical items
carried by armed infiltrators. The UNC returned the remains of the
dead soldier at the 465th MAC secretary meeting held on May 18. For
the first time, North Korea had accepted the body of one of its
infiltrators that had been confirmed by the North. The MAC played a
Continued Tension but Renewed Dialogue during the 1980s
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