Defense minister ordered release of North's demolition videos on day martial law was declared: Report
Published: 25 Dec. 2024, 15:28
Updated: 25 Dec. 2024, 18:20
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- LIM JEONG-WON
- [email protected]
![Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun speaks during a Defense Committee meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Nov. 28. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/12/25/f0bd8e29-af87-4606-bfce-d8ee261b2a83.jpg)
Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun speaks during a Defense Committee meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Nov. 28. [YONHAP]
The Unification Ministry's surprise release of videos showing North Korea’s demolition of transmission towers along the Gyeongui Line on Dec. 3, the day of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s surprise declaration of martial law, was ordered by former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, according to a report.
The JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, learned exclusively on Tuesday that the Unification Ministry released a video of North Korean workers demolishing transmission towers along the Gyeongui Line on the afternoon of Dec. 3, approximately 10 hours before Yoon declared emergency martial law the same day. The circumstances surrounding the video's release were unusual, according to multiple sources.
“During a tea time session right before the Cabinet meeting on the morning of Dec. 3, then-Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun requested that the Unification Ministry release the video related to the demolition of transmission towers,” a Unification Ministry official told the JoongAng Ilbo. “The transmission towers are related to inter-Korean economic cooperation, and there were also human rights violations in the videos, such as scenes of North Korean workers falling from the towers, so we accepted the Defense Ministry’s request. We did not consider any other issues.”
A source familiar with the matter said Kim Yong-hyun "personally asked Unification Minister Kim Young-ho when concerns arose with the Unification Ministry preemptively releasing footage filmed by the military.”
The Unification Ministry released the video, which was filmed with military surveillance equipment, to the press corps over two days on Nov. 26 and Dec. 3 without any prior notice. On the day of the martial law on Dec. 3, the video was shared via email at 2:13 p.m.
At the time, Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) public relations director Nam Ki-soo said in a regular briefing at the Defense Ministry that “several transmission towers north of the Gyeongui Line collapsed on Nov. 30.” However, it also told reporters to contact the Unification Ministry for more information, causing controversy among reporters.
This was because the Unification Ministry has maintained that it cannot reveal specific details because of the risk of exposing sources of information about North Korea obtained by the military or intelligence authorities. The Unification Ministry clearly stated that the video of the transmission towers was “provided by the Defense Ministry” when sharing it with the press, thus drawing much attention and speculation.
When questions were raised about another ministry releasing footage shot by the military’s surveillance assets, a Unification Ministry official explained that it did so because it was "a matter of inter-Korean economic cooperation based on inter-ministerial consultation.” A Defense Ministry official also echoed this claim.
![A transmission tower near the border north of the Gyeongui Line military demarcation line (MDL) falls on after wires are removed in this video released by the South's Unification Ministry on Dec 3. [MINISTRY OF UNIFICATION]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/12/25/dd82f1f4-dce8-4424-ac71-7e882c05e19d.jpg)
A transmission tower near the border north of the Gyeongui Line military demarcation line (MDL) falls on after wires are removed in this video released by the South's Unification Ministry on Dec 3. [MINISTRY OF UNIFICATION]
However, the behind-the-scenes situation disclosed Tuesday was that former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun had personally requested the release.
The military’s explanation that the transmission towers were managed by the Unification Ministry was also unconvincing since the JCS directly released photos of North Korean workers demolishing the towers during a briefing on recent North Korean military trends on Dec. 23.
Suspicions have emerged that the government was trying to highlight North Korea’s measures to cut off South Korea using the Unification Ministry, a politically less burdensome implement to wield than the military when responding to the North.
In particular, the National Office of Investigation (NOI) special investigation unit for the martial law incident announced Monday that the phrase “induce North Korea’s attack at the NLL (Northern Limit Line)” was found in the notebook of former Defense Intelligence Command chief Noh Sang-won, who was identified as one of the planners of the Dec. 3 martial law.
Some point out that Kim Yong-hyun had attempted to use other central government departments to create hostility toward North Korea without even revealing the details.
“It would have been realistically impossible for our military system to come to the forefront and blatantly provoke North Korea or to use military options," said a researcher at a government-funded think tank who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "Instead, it is possible that they attempted to manipulate public opinion to create an atmosphere of martial law by putting the Unification Ministry at the forefront.”
BY CHUNG YOUNG-KYO, LEE YOO-JUNG, LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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