Server :: Automating Multiple Minicom Sessions Simultaneously

Here's the setup: One x86 server (Red Hat 4) with two serial connections to an embedded linux device. One serial connection is to a power control so the device can the restarted, and the other is used for a console to this device. Both serial connections use minicom. People on my team VNC to the x86 server, where they find the two minicom sessions waiting for them as they are left open. I would like to automate connecting to the server and communicating over the serial lines.

Supposing I use ssh to the x86 server, could minicom be used over the serial lines without terminating the minicom processes seen through VNC? If not, is there a way to re-open those windows from within the ssh session, so a user who VNCs to the server won't have to reopen them? Could a single ssh connection control two minicom terminals simultaneously, or would there need to be two ssh connections? It is assumed a user and the automated process will *not* try to access the device at the same time; the automation would trigger during off hours.