Rival Parties Clash on Every Issue as Resolution Condemning North Korea Falls Through

[Anchor]

Late last night (September 29), rival parties clashed in the National Assembly's National Defense Committee over a landmine explosion incident. The adoption of a resolution condemning North Korea fell through.

Son Hyeong-an reports.

[Reporter]

The National Assembly's National Defense Committee attempted to adopt a resolution condemning North Korea's violation of the armistice agreement in connection with the landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) along the western front, but the effort fell through due to disagreements between rival parties.

The opposition party insisted on including language to review aid to North Korea, while the ruling party refused to accept it, leading to a clash.

[Lim Jong-deuk / People Power Party Lawmaker: "There is a process in which matters related to humanitarian assistance to North Korea are reflected in the budget. One aspect is that none of these should be allowed whatsoever."]

[Kim Byung-joo / Democratic Party Lawmaker: "There is currently no aid to North Korea being pursued. I see this as an unreasonable complaint being pushed obstinately."]

The Defense Committee stated that it plans to adopt the resolution at its next meeting if an agreement is reached after fine-tuning differences.

At around 8:30 p.m., during a closed-door meeting, lawmakers from rival parties reviewed military security footage related to the landmine explosion.

The video, recorded by body cameras worn by military service members deployed for operations before and after the explosion, reportedly captured vivid scenes of the operation as the wounded were evacuated and moved to a safe zone.

The Democratic Party said the footage confirmed how dangerous the situation was, dismissing the opposition party's demand that the military should have re-entered the site immediately after the incident for an investigation as reckless rhetoric.

[Cheon Jun-ho / Democratic Party Lawmaker: "I believe that such irresponsible claims must never be made again."]

In contrast, the People Power Party called for a strong countermeasure from our military.

[Han Ki-ho / People Power Party Lawmaker: "If North Korea fortified, we should fortify too. If they laid landmines, we should lay landmines too."]

Prior to this, rival parties also traded barbs over the on-site investigation that began on September 27, arguing, "There are suspicions of a cover-up due to a delayed investigation," and "No, that is a conspiracy theory and a political offensive."

In response, Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul replied that there was no cover-up.

The National Assembly Defense Committee's session, convened to scrutinize the appropriateness of the military's response to the landmine explosion, adjourned at around 10:50 p.m.

Amid this, President Lee Jae-myung mentioned during a Cabinet meeting the need for a thorough investigation and necessary actions based on the truth, emphasizing—in an apparent rebuke of the opposition's cover-up allegations—that national security must not be jeopardized by stoking groundless conspiracy theories.

(Video by Lee Seung-hwan and Shin Dong-hwan | Video Editing by Park Seon-soo)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.