Seoul: North Korea kills SKorean official, burns his body

South Korea said Thursday North Korean troops fatally shot a South Korean government official who may have attempted to defect and set his body on fire, after they found him on a floating object near the disputed sea boundary. It’s unlikely for North Korea to accept the South Korean demand, and the rivals’ ties — already strained amid a deadlock in a broader nuclear diplomacy — would suffer a further setback, observers say. According to Seoul, the man disappeared from a government ship that was checking on potential unauthorized fishing in an area south of the boundary on Monday, a day before he was found in North Korean waters.