Key facts
- A parliamentary committee adopted a resolution denouncing North Korea over a land mine explosion near the DMZ.
- Three South Korean soldiers were injured in the incident.
- The resolution calls the incident a "provocation" violating the Armistice Agreement.
- Opposition lawmakers walked out of the committee meeting in protest.
- The resolution can be referred to the assembly plenary session for a vote.
SEOUL, Oct. 14 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean parliamentary committee on Wednesday passed a resolution condemning North Korea over recent land mine explosions near the inter-Korean border that injured three soldiers. The resolution, led by the ruling Democratic Party (DP), characterized the incident as a "provocation" that violated the Armistice Agreement that halted the 1950-53 Korean War.
Lawmakers also called on the government to provide treatment and support for the injured soldiers and to work with the United Nations Command to present facts about the incident to the international community. However, lawmakers from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) walked out of the meeting in protest as the resolution was put to a vote, disagreeing with the exclusion of a parliamentary probe into allegations of the military's delay in investigating the explosions.
The DP argued that including allegations against the South Korean military in a resolution aimed at condemning the North would be contradictory. The PPP, on the other hand, felt that refusing to investigate the cause of the incident was insufficient. The resolution, having passed the defense committee, can now be referred to the assembly plenary session for a vote.