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It was confirmed Monday that the government acquired intelligence that after the killing of the late Kim Sun-il, an Iraqi terrorist group was formed aiming at Korean people residing in Iraq.
As Uri party lawmakers Woo Won-sik asked, ¡°Have you ever gotten intelligence that a terrorist group was recently organized targeting Korean soldiers and people in Iraq?¡± Kim Doh-sik, a secretary at the Korean embassy to Iraq, said, ¡°I heard about it and sent a letter on it to the Foreign Ministry.¡± Kim attended a parliamentary hearing on the murder of Kim Sun-il on Monday. In being asked how he acquired the intelligence, lawmaker Woo said, ¡°I heard it from a person who returned from Iraq a week ago.¡±
In connection with the testimony, an official at the Foreign Ministry said, ¡°We got a letter on the intelligence in late July. We cannot say that the information is unreliable in a situation where Korean forces will soon be dispatched to Arbil.¡±
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On Monday, in a parliamentary hearing, Lim Hong-jae, the Ambassador in Iraq (front row, right) and Kim Do-hyun from the Foreign Ministry (front row, left) listen to Kim Chun-ho, the president of Cana Trading.
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In being asked what measures the Korean embassy took after it received the information, secretary Kim said, ¡°It was difficult for us to take additional measures when we only have a piece of information. And we did not receive detailed orders from the National Security Counsel (NSC).¡± ¡°I have often gotten the impression that the NSC gives abstract orders without knowing the reality in Iraq,¡± Kim added.
In the meantime, it was also revealed that the videotape received by Associated Press Television News containing footage of late Cana Trading employee Kim Sun-il contained specific information, like his Korean address and how he learned Arabic, that could have been used to confirm his exact identity.
Rep. Park Jin of the Grand National Party said in a telephone interview with Yonhap News ahead of parliamentary investigative hearing on the Kim Sun-il killing that the original tape of Kim received by APTN was 13 minutes long, not the 4 minutes 30 seconds version that was played in Korea.
Park said that in the original tape, Kim gave specific testimony that could have been used to confirm his identity, like his address in Korea, how and from whom he learned Arabic in Korea, and that he was sent three days before to Falluja by his boss to deliver supplies.
Park said AP must explain why it was so careless in confirming Kim's identity despite getting such details like his Korean address from the tape, why it didn't inquire with Cheong Wa Dae or other official bodies, and who shortened the tape and why.
Park said AP's Baghdad bureau received the tape on June 2, meaning that Kim was kidnapped sometime before that date. Despite this, Park pointed out, AP Baghdad bureau chief Robert H. Reid reported on Jun 21 that they believed Kim was kidnapped about 10 days before. The lawmaker said AP must frankly explain why it reported thusly.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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