The U.S. has thrown its support behind South Korea in condemning North Korea for its killing of a South Korean fisheries official this week.

A State Department spokesperson on Thursday told Yonhap News, "We fully support our ROK ally's condemnation of this act and the ROK's call for a full explanation from the DPRK," referring to South and North Korea by their official names -- the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, respectively.

The remark came after President Moon Jae-in called the incident "shocking," and said "it cannot be tolerated for any reason."

Earlier, the Ministry of Defense in Seoul said the North shot and killed the 47-year-old South Korean official on Tuesday, when he allegedly tried to defect to the communist state.

The ministry said the man's body was then burned, apparently as a precautionary measure to prevent the possible spread of the coronavirus.

Please send comments to tbsefmnews@gmail.com
copyright © tbs. Unauthorized redistribution prohibited.