By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
A National Assembly committee will adopt a resolution calling on the government and international community to work together for the safe return of the 21 hostages in Afghanistan, floor leaders of five major political parties said Tuesday.
After a five-day tour to the U.S., the floor leaders agreed to adopt the resolution to help find a breakthrough in the hostage standoff.
``A final draft will come out by Wednesday. The resolution will clarify three principles in resolving the hostage crisis,'' Rep. Kim Choong-whan of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) told The Korea Times.
Kim emphasized that no military operation should be employed to settle the crisis.
Second, the resolution will also urge the United Nations, the United States, Afghanistan and Pakistan to work closely with the Korean government, he said.
Third, the Korean government should seek every possible measure to bring the hostages back home safe, the lawmaker added.
Kim said holding and reaching an agreement through a parliamentary session seems unfeasible as it will take too much time.
To that end, the floor leaders will convene a session of the Assembly's Unification, Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee.
The floor leaders also plan to encourage the public to join a public campaign to rescue the hostages by signing a resolution they will prepare.
The goal of the campaign is to enhance awareness among the international community so all the community members are encouraged to seek a proactive role in resolving the crisis, Kim said.
The floor leaders visited the families of the victims and hostages in Bundang, Gyeonggi province, Tuesday to explain their diplomatic activities in Washington and New York. They visited the U.S. with three lawmakers from Aug. 2 to 6.
They met with Congressmen such as Sen. Chuck Hagel, and Rep. Ed Royce, think tank experts and R. Nicholas Burns, undersecretary for political affairs at the State Department to discuss ways of resolving the hostage crisis. .