calendar>>April 10. 2018 Juche 107

S. Korean Organizations Urge U.S. to Apologize for Jeju April 3 Incident

Pyongyang, April 10 (KCNA) -- The Bereaved Family Society of Jeju April 3 Victims, the Commemoration Committee for the 70th Anniversary of June April 3 Incident and the All-People Committee to Mark the 70th Anniversary of Jeju April 3 Incident in south Korea held a press conference in Seoul on April 7 and denounced the U.S. for masterminding the massacre of Jeju islanders, according to the south Korean internet newspaper Tongil News.

The speakers said that the April 3 incident was a massacre of civilians that occurred during the rule by the U.S. military administration.

They urged the U.S. government to admit the responsibility for the massacre, make an official apology and opt for investigation into the truth about the crimes committed by the then the U.S. military administration and the U.S. military advisory group.

An open letter addressed to the U.S. government was made public at the press conference.

The letter said that the April 3 incident was committed at a time when the U.S. military administration and the U.S. military advisory group were exercising their command over the south Korean army, adding that tens of thousands of Jeju islanders met grievous deaths.

The letter also said that the U.S. military administration mobilized a reconnaissance plane for the scorched-earth operation and actively supported weapons and hardware for the "punitive force".

At the end of the press conference, the chairman of the bereaved family society launched a sit-in in protest against the U.S. embassy's refusal to accept the open letter.