[Anchor]
Today (October 26), entering the final week of the parliamentary audit, the National Assembly began its comprehensive audit of the Ministry of National Defense and its affiliated agencies. The audit is expected to address the military authorities' response to North Korea's landmine provocations, the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON), and Kim Jong-un's visit to China.
Reporter Noh Dong-gyu reports.
[Reporter]
During the National Assembly's comprehensive audit of the Ministry of National Defense this morning, lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties questioned officials on the security environment on the Korean Peninsula and the military's defense posture toward North Korea.
Regarding recent differences in tone between the South Korean government and USFK Commander Xavier Brunson over the timing of the wartime operational control transfer, Representative Kim Byung-joo of the Democratic Party (MINJU) asserted that there was no bilateral agreement concerning those remarks, and argued that a parliamentary resolution and legislation urging the OPCON transfer within the current administration's term are necessary.
Questions also followed regarding the intentions behind North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's day trip to Dandong, China.
[Kang Shin-chul / Minister of National Defense: "First, it relates to North Korea-China relations in connection with North Korea-Russia relations. We assess that he visited China with multiple intentions, including issues regarding North Korea-U.S. dialogue and managing the Korean Peninsula situation."]
Representative Sung Il-jong of the People Power Party rebuked the military's response posture regarding a recent incident in which a civilian woman in her 30s crossed unauthorized into the Civilian Control Line.
[Sung Il-jong / Member of National Assembly Defense Committee (People Power Party): "The Civilian Control Line was breached, everyone. She was carrying wire cutters and scissors. This was a person with clear intent."]
Meanwhile, North Korea, which has remained unanswered for three days to the South Korean military's proposal for military talks, sent a letter to the United Nations claiming that the landmine explosion was staged by South Korea.
In the letter sent to the President of the UN Security Council, North Korea's Permanent Representative to the UN claimed that South Korea carried out a provocative act by shifting blame for the September 21 landmine explosion onto the North.
North Korea's move is viewed as a response to the South Korean government's earlier diplomatic measure of sending a letter to the President of the UN Security Council regarding the landmine explosion incident.
(Video by Wi Won-yang)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.