Pyongyang, January 11 (KCNA) -- The South Korean Committee for Settling the Past History for Truth and Reconciliation laid bare the truth about the killings of civilians committed by the south Korean puppet army and police in Sunchon of South Jolla Province during the Ryosu Soldier Uprising, according to the January 8 issue of the south Korean newspaper Hangyore.
On January 7 the committee clarified that civilians were ruthlessly killed during the "punitive operation" against soldiers under 14th Regiment of the puppet army in Ryosu who rose up defying the order on putting down the Jeju islanders' April 3 resistance in October 1948.
The number of victims who were confirmed according to testimonies made by their bereaved families and survivals in Sunchon in those days and other facts is 439, but it will reach more than 2,000 in all if the number of those people whose death or survival could not be confirmed is added to it, the committee noted.
It said that the army and police who participated in the "punitive operation" killed civilians en masse for the mere reason that they took part in the uprising and offered lodging and boarding to uprisers and that they lived in the area where the "punitive operation" was conducted. Moreover, the army and police practiced illegal tortures when investigating those who were arrested for being involved in the uprising, the committee noted.
Noting that particularly the local regional commander proclaimed the "martial law" and illegally arrested and killed civilians out of his willful judgment, the committee demanded the present authorities apologize for this, support the work for the memory of the victims and carry the truth about the mass killings in official publications.
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