A military commando unit conducts a drill to overpower pirates.[Yonhap News Photo ]
South Korea's parliament has allowed cargo ships to get protected by armed security guards when they sail in dangerous international waters, breaking away from a strict ban on the civilian use of fatal weapons.
In a vote on late Thursday, the National Assembly passed a bill on allowing civilian vessels to have armed security guards on board to protect crew members and cargo from pirates. Captains will exercise control over the use of weapons and security personnel only in "urgent" cases to chase away pirates.
Civilian security guards armed with non-fatal weapons using tear gas and electric shock are common at home, but the illegal circulation of pistols and other fatal weapons is strictly banned because the two Koreas have been technically at war following the 1950-53 conflict.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
