By Shim Jae-yun
Staff Reporter

The Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry yesterday admitted an official received a telephone inquiry on June 3 from a reporter from the Associated Press (AP) over the kidnapping of a South Korean by terrorists in Iraq.

The admission spelt an overnight reversal of the ministry’s claim that it had no knowledge about the AP inquiry, which was made at least 18 days prior to hostage Kim Sun-il’s execution.

``An official at the public affairs bureau received an inquiry from a Korean-speaking reporter by telephone asking whether a South Korean was missing or held captive in Iraq,’’ ministry official Shin Bong-kil said during a media briefing.

The admission is expected to have significant fallout within the ministry. Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon had challenged the AP to give details of its telephone inquiry but said he was ready to take responsibility if the ministry was at fault.

The acknowledgement came as public anger was rising after the AP announced one of its reporters in Seoul asked the ministry about Kim in early June. The AP’s revelation further raised suspicions regarding the handling of the case.

Even after pan-Arab TV network Al-Jazeera aired a videotape showing Kim threatened by the Iraqi militants on June 21, the official didn’t report the phone inquiry to the higher-up.

``The official, who almost forgot about the call, was not aware there was any link between the video footage and the inquiry,’’ Shin said.

The official remembered the reporter was from a foreign media outlet, but was not sure whether he or she was from the AP, according to the ministry spokesman.

An AP report Thursday claimed that Associated Press Television News, its subsidiary, had received a videotape of Kim being interviewed by an unidentified man in the first week of June. It asked the Foreign Ministry for confirmation but failed to receive any response.

The revelation came hours after the Foreign Ministry again denied the AP claim, saying that it has not confirmed whether the news agency made a phone call to the ministry.

The latest row over Kim’s killing was touched off by the AP report stating that it had queried the Foreign Ministry in early June about whether Kim was missing or in captivity in Iraq but was told ``no.’’

Apparently raising the stakes in confrontation with AP, ministry spokesman Shin initially questioned the credibility of the AP report, saying, ``The government will take all possible measures if AP refuses to shed light on the grave issue.’’

Earlier in the day, with conflicting accounts over the AP claim, the nation’s top audit agency, Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI), embarked on full-blown investigations at the order of President Roh Moo-hyun.

The BAI will expand the scope of the investigation to include the National Intelligence Service, the Defense Ministry and the National Security Council as well as the Foreign Ministry, according to presidential spokesman Yoon Tai-young.

The inspection body chose 16 officials in charge who will embark on the investigation in earnest. The officials will begin their work by collecting relevant data from the Foreign Ministry.

The BAI officials plan to visit Iraq soon to investigate the Korean Embassy in Iraq to explore suspicion on whether the government had earlier recognized the arrest of Kim late May as asserted by the APTN.

The move comes as part of efforts to clear conflicting claims involving the kidnapping and execution of the Korean interpreter Kim.

The investigation will focus on comprehensive checks of the information systems in the foreign policy and security-related agencies. ``The probe will feature efficiency and inter-ministerial coordination,’’ a BAI official said.

President Roh has been facing increasing criticism over the government’s failure to cope with the tragic episode.

``We believe there is an urgent need to recover the people’s trust in the government by ensuring transparency in the management of related authorities,’’ a Chong Wa Dae official said.