The commentary expressed wrath at the hair-raising atrocity of the U.S. forces which buried a huge amount of poisonous chemical materials in secrecy.

This recently disclosed crime is very serious, it said, urging the present "government" to promptly form a fact-finding group and thoroughly investigate and open to the public the truth about the case.

On the same day political parties and civic and public organizations in Taegu and North Kyongsang Province of south Korea called a press conference outside the U.S. military base in Waegwan to condemn the burial case.

Speakers at the conference said it has been revealed by this crime that the U.S. claim that it buried into the sea the remnant of defoliant used during the Vietnam War was a lie.

That day members of the People for Achieving Peace and Reunification staged demonstrations outside the U.S. military bases in Ryongsan and Waegwan to condemn the U.S. forces' crimes. They declared that they would continue the struggle until the issue is settled.

Meanwhile, the south Korean newspaper Hangyore on May 21 carried an editorial urging a thoroughgoing investigation into the above-said crime.

The U.S. forces should make public in detail the amount of defoliant introduced into south Korea and its transfer, storage and disposal, the editorial said.