Clinton Offers Regrets for No Gun Ri

ByABC News
January 11, 2001, 8:01 PM

W A S H I N G T O N, Jan. 11 -- U.S. President Clinton today expressed deep regret for the death 50 years ago of dozens of South Korean refugees shot by U.S. troops near thevillage of No Gun Ri.

The expression of regret, however, fell far short of theformal apology and admission of guilt some Korean officials hadsought. It followed a 15-month investigation into the KoreanWar incident on July 26, 1950.

"On behalf of the United States of America, I deeply regretthat Korean civilians lost their lives at No Gun Ri in lateJuly, 1950," Clinton said in a statement in which he offeredhis condolences to those who had lost loved ones.

U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen later released areport from the Army's Inspector General on the incident, whichdetermined that U.S. soldiers killed or injured an "unconfirmednumber" of Korean refugees as they withdrew under pressure inthe vicinity of No Gun Ri.

"The passage of 50 years has reduced the possibility thatall of the facts can be known about the tragic incident thattook place in the vicinity of No Gun Ri in South Korea," Cohenread from a prepared statement.

The incident occurred in the chaotic first days of theKorean War with ill-equipped and badly prepared U.S. forces inretreat from the North Koreans.

"In the early weeks of the war, U.S. troops were young,under-trained and unprepared for the battle tactics of theNorth Korean forces," said Cohen, who refused to take anyquestions after reading his statement.

In a Statement of Mutual Understanding agreed by the UnitedStates and Korea, the Koreans reported an "unverified" numberof 248 civilians killed, injured or missing.

No Evidence of Mass Graves or Remains

The report said the U.S. team believed the number to bemuch lower than the Korean claim and said an aerialreconnaissance photograph of the area taken on Aug. 6, 1950showed no indication of human remains or mass graves.

While neither side could agree on the numbers killed, thejoint statement spoke of "diligent and conscientious" bilateralefforts to find out what had happened and Clinton highlightedstrong ties between the two nations.