Nepal authorities blocking full search for 9 missing Koreans, Assembly committee chair says

Nepal's strict control over the disaster site is preventing South Korea and other countries from conducting full-scale search operations for nine missing Korean nationals, National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee Chairman Song Seok-jun said Monday.

Song and other committee members visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Seoul that morning to receive a briefing on the Nepal flood disaster and the government's response, then spoke with reporters.

"The site is in a gorge with the risk of secondary landslides, so the Nepalese government is exercising strict control," Song said. "Nepal's own search teams are leading the effort, and search activities by South Korea and other concerned countries have not yet begun in earnest."

Asked about reports that China and India were conducting search operations at parts of the site, Song said the activity was limited to certain tunnels and that broader searches by other countries had not yet started in full.

Hong Ki-won, the Democratic Party of Korea's floor manager on the committee, said any aerial or ground search operation requires prior approval from Nepalese authorities. "The Foreign Ministry and the South Korean Embassy in Nepal are working in close cooperation with the Nepalese authorities," he said.

People Power Party lawmaker Ko Dong-jin said Nepal was being cautious about outside assistance, noting that when a major earthquake struck the country in 2015, the involvement of multiple nations created significant confusion on the ground. He said Nepal was therefore prioritizing support from China and India, which have expertise in mountain terrain and tunnel search operations.

The South Korean government has dispatched joint rapid-response teams to Nepal on two separate occasions and is pursuing multiple avenues to search for the missing.

"Despite all available resources being deployed to the site, operations have not been able to proceed," Song said. He added that the Assembly would explore ways to provide legislative-level support for the equipment, personnel and budget needed once a full-scale search gets underway.