South Korea says North Korean troops fatally shot a South Korean government official who may have attempted to defect and set his body on fire after finding him on a floating object near the countries' disputed sea boundary.
According to Seoul, the man disappeared from a government ship that was checking on possible unauthorized fishing and was later found in North Korean waters.
South Korea's Defense Ministry says North Korea sent officials wearing gas masks aboard a boat to learn why he was there, and later the North Korean navy opened fire at him and burned his body.
A defense official says the man might have tried to defect to North Korea and may have been shot in line with the North's stringent anti-coronavirus rules.
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