“I was lying down in thick padding and covering fallen leaves.”
This is an explanation from the military authorities on the journey when a North Korean man who had been’swimming defection’ was discovered by a searcher on the 16th. On the 23rd, the Joint Chiefs of Staff announced the results of a field investigation into the swimming defection incident, but questioned the specific identity of the man. “We considered the personal safety of the family who will remain in North Korea,” he said.
Gun “wearing padding to keep warm, familiar with the sea” explained
Military data “Survival for 2 hours at 8℃ in seawater temperature”
“You say you’re disgusted and go away from the checkpoint report”
“Good quality products such as padding and wetsuit…I wonder if it’s a general public”
The suspicion of swimming for six hours on a cold winter day with strong winds was described as “possible.” The joint official said, “(A North Korean man) A side job related to fishing and familiar with the sea“It was investigated as having done it,” he said, “I think it would have been possible to swim for a long time by putting off this characteristic.”
Then, “a rather loose shape that separates the neck and body Keep body warm by wearing thick padding and socks under the wetsuitI judged that I was able to do it.”Wearing thick clothes acts as some buoyancyIt seems to have been done.” Also, “the wave was high on the day of the incident, The ocean current flowed from the north to the southwest (on land).“According to the US Navy diving manual Sea activity is possible for more than 5 hours at 7℃Is stated, Seawater temperature on the day is 6~8℃It was,” he added.
The entrance to the DMZ Peace Circumference starting from the Unification Observatory in Goseong, Gangwon-do. News 1
However, what is’the survival time according to the seawater temperature’ Military internal dataAccording to the waterproof suit, At sea water temperature of 8℃, survival time is 2 hours and 15 minutes.It is only It was 2 hours at 7°C and 1 hour and 45 minutes at 6°C. Furthermore The duration of the consciousness is 45 minutes even in waterproof clothing at sea water temperature of 8℃.to be. For this reason, doubts continue as to whether it is possible to swim and float for 6 hours depending on physical strength in the winter sea, despite the explanation of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
On this day, the military authorities refused to talk about the possibility of navigating south using a powered propellant or float. The Joint Chiefs of Staff “No other equipment was discovered other than wetsuits and flippers.”Replied.
Military authorities said the North Korean man was “presumed to be a refugee and is a civilian.” But inside and outside the military, it is argued that “there are not one or two suspicious acts to be seen as a general North Korean citizen.” A military official who requested anonymity said, “The wetsuit and flippers were placed as if hiding in the cracks of the rocks close to the shore landing point.”
The situation at the time of’Swimming Gwisoon’. Graphic = Reporter Jaemin Shin [email protected]
It is a mystery that a North Korean man just passed by when he saw the checkpoint. One government source said “Even after seeing the checkpoint, there are some parts that are not as suspicious as the behavior of a general defector, such as being caught sleeping in the hills without surrendering immediately.”I pointed out.
At the time the search team discovered, the North Korean man was wearing thick padding with his eyes closed. As if she was trying to keep her body warm by covering her with a padded hat, her legs were covered with fallen leaves. It is said that a cloth mask that appears to have been worn by a man was hung on the branch next to it.
In this regard, government sources “Dressing clean enough to be difficult to compare with the appearance of North Korean fishermen at the time of the defection incident on the wooden boat at Samcheok Port”He said, “Not only the padding, but also wetsuits and flippers are of good quality, so it seems that they are not easy to obtain in North Korea.”
Reporters Cheoljae Lee and Sangjin Kim [email protected]