Democratic Party fires back at PPP over DMZ mine incident, calls criticism 'treasonous'

The Democratic Party of Korea hit back Saturday at the People Power Party's criticism over a suspected mine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone, calling the PPP's attacks "conspiracy theories that stoke security anxiety."

Democratic Party Chief Spokesperson Park Sung-joon said in a written briefing that the PPP "has gone too far in using national security as a tool for political warfare."

"Our military is maintaining a thorough state of readiness and working to minimize the risk of a secondary incident," Park said. "The PPP is busy only denigrating those efforts. With no regard for national security and only political calculations in mind, the PPP's current posture is nothing short of treasonous."

Park went on to say the PPP's conspiracy theories amounted to "a serious threat that undermines the national security of the Republic of Korea," and urged the party to "immediately stop raising conspiracy theories that inflame security anxiety."

Floor Spokesperson Jeon Eun-su also issued a written briefing, saying "national security is not something you handle through speculation," and urged the PPP to "stop using soldiers' lives and national security for political fights."

Jeon added that "the government and military have never ruled out the possibility that the mines were planted by North Korea," and challenged the PPP: "What is the basis for concluding that 'North Korea is definitely responsible' before the investigation results are in, and then claiming the government is trying to cover it up?"

The Democratic Party also pushed back against conservative opposition criticism of the government's decision to keep quiet about the repatriation of North Korean prisoners of war from Ukraine.

Park said handling the matter privately "to guarantee the safety of defectors and minimize unnecessary provocation and confrontation is an entirely commonsense measure," adding that "any normal political group should have held accountable the party that disclosed the information first, before questioning whether there was a cover-up."

However, some voices within the Democratic Party also criticized the government's handling of both the repatriation of North Korean soldiers and the DMZ mine incident.

Five-term lawmaker Park Ji-won wrote on Facebook that "if our soldiers were injured in the mine accident, the government must tell the public the truth — that is the only way the people will understand," and questioned why the government had not acknowledged "that it took custody of two North Korean POWs from Ukraine on humanitarian grounds, if indeed they have arrived in South Korea."

Park also said the government had failed to properly brief even its own ruling party lawmakers, writing: "Is the government telling PPP members to just sit back and enjoy the show? Even if you want to fight the opposition and independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, you need to know the facts before you can do anything."

He added: "Stop looking only to the president — the prime minister and every other government official need to get their act together. Both the people and the ruling party are watching."