NK delegation diverted to avoid protest on way to Seoul

A high-level delegation from North Korea, which arrived at a checkpoint in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, at 9:53 a.m. Sunday, took a detour to reach its accommodation at the northeastern edge of Seoul, avoiding direct confrontation with protesters on the Unification Bridge -- the official land route connecting the two Koreas.

Lawmakers from the main opposition Liberty Korea Party held an overnight protest on the southern end of a border bridge to North Korea starting Saturday in an attempt to block the entry of a North Korean delegation led by a ranking official accused of orchestrating several provocations against South Korea. 

The conservative opposition party is opposing the visit of Gen. Kim Yong-chol, the head of the North Korean ruling party’s United Front Department. He is accused of masterminding the 2010 sinking of the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan, which left 46 sailors dead. Kim was the chief of the North’s Reconnaissance General Bureau that is in charge of overseas intelligence operations and cyber warfare at the time.

Kim is also accused of orchestrating the shelling of Yeonpyeongdo, an island near the West Sea maritime border here, in the same year, and the planting of land mines across the inter-Korean border. Four people were killed in the shelling while two were seriously injured in the later incident in 2015.

After the delegation used another route to enter Seoul, Liberty Korea Party Chairman Hong Joon-pyo said the delegation had entered through a “dog hole.”

“Our party members and the people will not make Kim’s stay comfortable,” Hong said. They also called Kim a war criminal and murderer.

“President Moon Jae-in nailed a spike into the hearts of the bereaved families of the Cheonan incident and the people by allowing the murderer’s visit. We declare a war against the Moon administration that is influenced by North Korea’s socialism,” the party’s spokesman Rep. Jang Je-won said in a statement.

About 90 lawmakers from the main opposition party took part in the rally on the bridge, while hundreds of supporters also attended the protest. Police said they had dispatched 2,500 officers to the scene.

Family members of the Cheonan incident victims delivered a letter of protest to Cheong Wa Dae on Saturday to express their disappointment.

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea denounced the main opposition party Sunday, saying it has internationally disgraced the country.

“The Liberty Korea Party’s action on the day of the closing ceremony of PyeongChang Winter Olympics is an international embarrassment,” Rep. Back Hye-ryun said in a statement.

It also pointed to how the conservative party had welcomed Kim when he came for inter-Korean military talks in 2014 as the chief delegate, when they were the ruling party under now ousted former President Park Geun-hye.

Seoul’s Ministry of Unification on Thursday announced it had accepted the North’s proposal to send an eight-member delegation led by Kim, adding the visit would improve inter-Korean ties and help to pave the way for dialogue for peace.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)