Assault on Special Task Force member…Two perpetrators arrested, one on the run
North Korean youth on trial in a public courtroom. [Image: NK Times]
An incident has reportedly occurred in North Hamgyong Province in which an off-duty member of a Special Task Force unit was assaulted.
According to an NK Times source in the province, early last month in Kilju County, a Special Task Force officer named Kim in his late twenties was attacked by three young men.
Kim was dining at a restaurant when three young men began verbally harassing his girlfriend with sexually inappropriate remarks. A verbal altercation reportedly ensued between Kim and the men.
Eventually, Kim was surrounded and brutally beaten. Bystanders attempted to break up the fight, but had little luck. Kim suffered serious injuries to his face and body and was later taken to a hospital in the county for treatment.
According to the source, two of the assailants have been arrested, while the third is at large. The local Public Security Department has already identified the fugitive and is conducting a search operation to apprehend him.
Given the strict control and surveillance system in place in North Korea, it is unlikely he will evade capture for long.
“This is not being treated as an ordinary assault, but rather as a direct challenge to state authority,” the source said. “The perpetrators are expected to receive severe punishment.”
Sewon is the North Korean-born founder and CEO of NK Times, a Seoul-based media outlet focused on North Korea. Drawing on his personal experience living there, he strives for transparency and accuracy in reporting, working to inform readers worldwide about the realities of North Korea.
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