MINISTRY CONFIRMS DEATH OF GOV'T OFFICIAL

[Anchor Lead]

We have just been informed that the Defense Ministry has confirmed that the South Korean government fisheries official who went missing near the de facto inter-Korean sea border in western waters, was in fact shot dead by North Korean soldiers. It also said the official's body was later retrieved and cremated by the North. The ministry urged Pyongyang to give explanations and punish those involved in the incident.