Q: I saw on CNN where a North Korean soldier shot some fellow North Korean soldiers then defected to South Korea. Where did this occur?
—William McKee Jr., Flowery Branch
A: The North Korean soldier, identified as a sergeant, according to The New York Times, shot a squad and platoon commander before using a loudspeaker to announce his intentions to cross the Demilitarized Zone near the North Korean town of Kaesong on Oct. 6. North Korean soldiers also defected across the Demilitarized Zone in 2010, 2008 and 2002, The Associated Press reported. More than 2,000 North Korean civilians have defected to South Korea every year since 2006, an increase from about 100 a year in the 1990s, according to the Ministry of Unification in Seoul.
Q: Is boxing great Cassius Clay named for the famous emancipator in the 1840s from Kentucky?
—Don White, Atlanta
A: Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., the boxer, was named after his father, Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr., who was named after the Kentucky politician of the same name. Clay, the politician, served in the U.S. House of Representatives and was President Abraham Lincoln's ambassador to Russia during the Civil War. Despite being born to wealthy slaveholders in Kentucky, Clay was anti-slavery and helped found the Republican Party. Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr. was born in Jefferson County, Ky., in 1912, and his son, Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., was born in Louisville, Ky., in 1942. Clay Jr. changed his name to Muhammad Ali after converting to Islam in 1964.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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