South Korea’s unification minister has criticized the U.N. Command (UNC) for allegedly blocking a presidential security official from entering the DMZ, backing a bill that would give him the authority to approve access as Seoul pushes for greater cooperation with Pyongyang.

“Not long ago, even the first deputy director of the National Security Office [Kim Hyun-jong] was denied permission to visit the remains excavation site at the White Horse Hill area,” Chung Dong-young said Wednesday at a National Assembly hearing.

He was referring to the South Korean defense ministry’s 40-day excavationof Korean War-era remains at the White