Army brigade commander's meeting with intelligence command sparks concerns

[Anchor]

We will now report two newly revealed facts related to the situation at the time of the declaration of martial law.

First, it has been reported that the commander of the armored unit in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, was at the special forces office of the Defense Intelligence Command in Pangyo on the day martial law was declared.

It is said that former Defense Intelligence Commander Noh Sang-won called him.

The military's position is that they were not actually preparing to deploy, but there is a need to clarify the circumstances.

Reporter Kim Yong-jun has the details.

[Report]

Armored vehicles, tanks, and self-propelled artillery. This is the strength of the Army's 2nd Armored Brigade.

Their main mission is to block and counter North Korean armored forces heading towards the metropolitan area in case of an emergency, and they are stationed in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, which is 30 km from Seoul.

However, just before the declaration of martial law on the night of Dec. 3, Brigade Commander Koo Sam-hoe was reportedly at the Defense Intelligence Command office in Pangyo, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, not in Paju.

He is said to have gone there after being called by former Commander Noh Sang-won, who was arrested yesterday (12.18).

Coincidentally, Brigade Commander Koo was on leave from the day of the martial law declaration until the next day.

With the past of the 2nd Armored Brigade, which seized the Central Government Building and the Ministry of National Defense with over 30 tanks during the military coup on Dec. 12, 1979, suspicions have been raised that they were preparing to mobilize armored forces in case of an emergency during this martial law as well.

The military has drawn a line.

[Colonel Seo Woo-seok/Army Public Affairs Officer: "There was no separate preparation for troops to deploy."]

The whereabouts of Brigade Commander Koo are said to be under investigation.

[Jeon Ha-kyou/Ministry of National Defense Spokesperson: "The facts need to be confirmed through an investigation."]

KBS asked Brigade Commander Koo why he went to the Defense Intelligence Command office at the call of former Commander Noh, but he refused to answer.

At the time of the martial law declaration, the alert status was raised to level 2, and commanders above the battalion level were ordered to return immediately to their posts if they were away.

However, it has been confirmed that Brigade Commander Koo returned to the unit around 8 a.m. on Dec. 4, about three hours after the martial law was lifted.

This is KBS News reporter Kim Yong-jun.