Bloodshed at a Peace Site

The 158-acre area around the Korean truce village of Panmunjom has been a haven from gunfire, if not from violence, since the 1953 Korean armistice. But that record was shattered last week by a shootout over a Soviet defector in the Joint Security Area. An American G.I., Michael Burgoyne, 20, of Portland, Mich., was wounded in the melee. A South Korean soldier and as many as three North Koreans were killed.

The incident was sparked by Vasiliy Matuzok, 22, a Soviet tour guide on a group visit to the security area, who reportedly bolted toward a 35-member United Nations security unit. Between 20 and 30 North Korean soldiers crossed into U.N. territory while firing at the escapee, and the U.N. troops shot back. The defector was later reported to be in the care of U.S. military authorities in Seoul, 25 miles away. The incident cast a minor chill on a recent burgeoning of good will between the two Koreas. Only days earlier, the famous bargaining table at Panmunjom had been the scene of warm grins and vigorous handshakes between North and South Koreans, as the two sides agreed to end an eleven-year freeze on talks aimed at reuniting divided Korean families.