The People Power Party plans to open an emergency question-and-answer session at the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee on the 30th without the ruling party, taking up a landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and Ukraine's repatriation of captured North Korean soldiers.
Rep. Kim Dae-sik of the People Power Party, the opposition liaison on the committee, submitted a request to the National Assembly the previous day to convene a full committee meeting for the session, according to political sources.
The ruling party and key cabinet ministers are expected to stay away. The Democratic Party of Korea sees little need for a separate question-and-answer session, given that a parliamentary audit of government agencies is scheduled for Oct. 6-7. Unification Minister Chung Dong-young is on an overseas trip and is unlikely to attend, sources said. Chung is scheduled to return on Oct. 5. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is also unlikely to be present, according to sources.
The People Power Party intends to hold the meeting even if the Democratic Party and some cabinet ministers do not attend, using procedural remarks and other means to press the government on its response. The circumstances of the DMZ landmine explosion and the dispute between South Korea and Ukraine that arose during the repatriation of the North Korean soldiers are expected to be the main points of contention.
