NewsMax.com Wires
Friday, Jan. 12, 2001

Clinton said a number of innocent civilians were killed or injured at No Gun Ri, but he stopped short of acknowledging U.S. wrongdoing in a statement timed with the release of a Pentagon report on the matter.

"Although we have been unable to determine precisely the events that occurred at No Gun Ri, the U.S. and South Korean governments have concluded a statement of mutual understanding that an unconfirmed number of innocent Korean refugees were killed or injured there," Clinton said.

"To those Koreans who lost loved ones at No Gun Ri, I offer my condolences."

Clinton's statement represented the closest the United States has come to accepting blame for the incident, in which as many as 300 civilians allegedly died at the hands of U.S. forces.

The South Korean government had pressed the United States for a formal apology.

Clinton said he hoped a memorial the United States pledged to build honoring all civilian casualties would "bring a measure of solace and closure." The United States also plans to establish a commemorative scholarship fund that will act as "a living tribute to their memory," Clinton said.

In a series of articles, the Associated Press interviewed former U.S. soldiers and No Gun Ri survivors who said American troops killed hundreds of refugees over three days. The AP investigation, which won a Pulitzer Prize, prompted official No Gun Ri investigations by Washington and Seoul.

Long denied by the United States, the incident occurred in the early days of the Korean War, when outnumbered U.S. troops were retreating south from North Korean forces along with thousands of refugees. American commanders at the time reportedly believed North Korean guerrillas and spies were among Korean refugees and allegedly ordered troops to fire on a throng of civilians encamped under a railroad bridge near the village of No Gun Ri.

Survivors pressed for an investigation in the following years, but the United States and South Korea refused to revisit No Gun Ri. For decades the United States denied that U.S. troops were even in area at the time of the killings.

Copyright 2000 by United Press International. All rights reserved.

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