Koreans seek late justice from Americans

[struggle4progress]

Commission says 1950 attack that allegedly killed many civilians violated rules of war
Choe Sang-Hun, New York Times
Sunday, August 3, 2008

... "When the napalm hit our village, many people were still sleeping in their homes," said Lee Beom Ki, 76. "Those who survived the flames ran to the tidal flats. We were trying to show the American pilots that we were civilians. But they strafed us, women and children."

Village residents say dozens of civilians were killed.

The attack, though not the civilian casualties, has been corroborated by declassified U.S. military documents recently reviewed by South Korean investigators. On Sept. 10, 1950, five days before the Inchon landing, according to the documents, 43 American warplanes swarmed over Wolmi, dropping 93 napalm canisters to "burn out" its eastern slope in attempt to clear the way for U.N. troops ...

The findings on the three episodes were the <Truth and Reconciliation Commission>'s first against the United States, and it is unlikely that the group has the time or resources to investigate many more before it is disbanded, as early as 2010. Separately, the commission has also ruled that the South Korean government summarily executed thousands of political prisoners and killed many unarmed villagers during the war ...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/03/MNU6124C2E.DTL