Reuters. 17 January 2002. N. Korea Claims Fresh Evidence of U.S. Atrocities.
UNITED NATIONS -- North Korea told the United Nations on Thursday it had found fresh evidence of what it said were extensive atrocities committed by U.S. troops on its people during the Korean War more than half a century ago. The remains of 59 people who had been "massacred by United States troops" were discovered in shallow graves last Nov. 14 in Shinchon County, South Hwanghae Province, North Korea's U.N. Ambassador Pak Gil Yon said in a letter to the 15-nation U.N. Security Council. The remains indicated some of the bodies had been buried while still alive, the envoy said. Some skulls bore bullet holes while others bore larger holes "showing that they were hit by a mass of iron or heavy stone," axes, spades or rifle butts, he said. The remains showed "that the United States troops coldbloodedly slaughtered innocent people by cutting their neck, waist and legs and burying them separately to cover up their crimes of atrocities," he said. He accused the United Nations of bearing part of the blame for the atrocities by allowing U.S. forces in the Korean War "under the cover of United Nations forces." U.S. troops occupied Shinchon County for less than two months, from Oct. 7 through Dec. 7, 1950, and during that time "cruelly slaughtered" a total of 35,383 civilians, according to the diplomat. North Korea has erected a museum in the area to house evidence it says it has unearthed of the alleged atrocities. The diplomat said the latest findings were stirring up indignation in his country in light of earlier reports of mass killings by U.S. troops in the South Korean village of No Gun Ri in July 1950. A little over a year ago, then-U.S. President Bill Clinton called South Korean President Kim Dae-jung to express his regret about the death of dozens of South Korean refugees shot by U.S. troops near No Gun Ri. He spoke after a 15-month U.S. investigation into the Korean War incident, triggered by reports by the Associated Press that later won the Pulitzer Prize. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barry Stoller http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews
