An investigation into South Korea’s failed martial law has uncovered plans to “provoke” North Korea into an attack, police said on Monday.
South Korea’s former military intelligence chief Noh Sang-won was at the centre of a high-profile investigation after police found his notebook containing plans that suggested North Korea would provoke him to attack.
Those notes, containing about 60-70 pages, were found at his home in the city of Ansan. Yonhap News Agency, citing law enforcement agencies, reported that one of the notes mentioned a plan to “provoke the North to attack the NLL,” which likely refers to the North’s Yellow Sea boundary line, which South Korea considers its de facto maritime border.
The materials also include plans to blockade South Korea’s National Assembly, as well as lists of individuals – politicians, journalists, clerics and activists – whom the author presumably considered necessary to arrest. However, the notebook does not explicitly indicate the drafting of a decree to impose martial law, which had previously been the subject of speculation.
But Sang-won was known as an associate of former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun, who has previously advocated martial law and is currently under investigation on charges of attempted mutiny. Opposition politicians say the materials may be part of a wider plan to consolidate power through the use of military measures.
Police have yet to confirm whether actual action was taken to provoke North Korea. However, South Korean media earlier reported a disagreement between Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun and Kim Myung-soo, chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee. The latter refused to carry out orders to open warning fire and strike locations where debris balloons were launched, which allegedly served as a pretext for escalation. The Ministry of Defence rejected the allegations, calling them groundless.
