Tae Young-ho: "International Pressure on North Korea Needed to Prevent Killing of Our Citizens"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Tae Young-ho, a member of the People Power Party, appealed that "a concrete international plan to pressure the North Korean regime is necessary to prevent the recurrence of the killing of our citizens" in relation to the Yeonpyeong Island shelling incident.

On the 25th, Tae said through Facebook, "It is regrettable that the resolution strongly condemning this incident in the name of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee failed to be adopted."

He said, "If South and North Korea do not have any normal communication channels like this time, there is no law that prevents the same incident from happening," and questioned, "To solve the problem, the parties involved must face each other, but if North Korea shows no response and we have to stand by, how futile would that be?"

Tae emphasized, "We must raise the issue on the international stage where North Korea exists and explore all possible measures under international law," adding, "Only then will North Korea be pressured and forced to take measures to prevent recurrence."

He explained that the parliamentary resolution included efforts to ▲ propose to the United Nations (UN) General Assembly and Security Council to address the June joint liaison office bombing incident and North Korea's recent atrocities as agenda items ▲ strongly condemn North Korea for failing to rescue our citizens adrift through the International Maritime Organization (IMO) ▲ verify through the World Health Organization (WHO) whether North Korea issued orders to shoot border crossers under the pretext of blocking the spread of COVID-19 and demand immediate withdrawal of such orders ▲ demand North Korea to establish an International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission according to the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols and refer those responsible for this incident to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity.

Tae said, "I understand the criticism that measures such as referral to the International Criminal Court are unlikely to lead to actual punishment of perpetrators," but added, "However, now is the time for our government to show strong will and pressure North Korea on the international stage."

Meanwhile, the People Power Party announced that it will form a 'Task Force (TF) for Investigating North Korea's Atrocities of Killing and Burning Our Citizens' to investigate the truth behind the Yeonpyeong Island shelling incident. Assemblyman Han Ki-ho will serve as team leader, with members including Shin Won-sik, Cho Tae-yong, Ji Seong-ho, Ha Tae-kyung, Tae Young-ho, Kim Seok-ki, and Jeong Jeom-sik.