Vietnam War Abuses by Troops Reported

South Korean soldiers killed large numbers of unarmed civilians--mostly the elderly and children--during the Vietnam War, a state-run TV station reported. Quoting survivors and veterans, accounts of the killings have been circulating in South Korea for years but have never been investigated during Seoul’s past military regimes. According to the report, South Korean soldiers rounded up and gunned down scores or hundreds of villagers in Vietnam suspected of harboring guerrillas. In one incident in May 1966, rebels injured a South Korean officer and a Vietnamese translator, KBS-TV said. A South Korean veteran said troops opened fire on villagers “in retaliation,” killing 46.