S. Korean Soldiers Hunting Infiltrators Kill Civilian

SEOUL —  South Korean troops shot dead a civilian by mistake today as they hunted for an estimated five North Korean infiltrators still on the run, a military official said.

Kang Chang Shik told a news conference that the victim, a 56-year-old man, was spotted by security forces just after dawn walking in the mountains near an area where clashes had occurred sporadically during the night.

“He was going to pick wild mushrooms,” Kang said. “Troops opened fire after sighting him.” Local residents have been warned against traveling in the mountains.

Kang said two South Korean soldiers were injured and taken to a hospital during the overnight gun battles.

It was the first civilian fatality since the search for infiltrators began Wednesday, after a submarine carrying an estimated 26 North Koreans became stranded on an east coast beach. Twenty infiltrators have been killed--11 were already dead when Southern forces discovered the sub--and one captured alive. Three South Korean soldiers have also been killed.

Also today, North Korea demanded the return of the submarine--which it said had strayed into South Korean waters--along with surviving crew members and the bodies of those killed.

It was Pyongyang’s first direct statement on the drama, which began when the submarine apparently developed engine trouble off the eastern city of Kangnung.