Parties call for cooperation in ratifying Panmunjeom deal

Floor leaders of rival parties, (from left) Kim Kwan-young of the Bareunmirae Party, Kim Sung-tae of the largest opposition Liberty Korea Party, and Hong Young-pyo of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea speak to journalists after their meeting at the National Assembly, Thursday. Yonhap

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) called Thursday for bipartisan cooperation for parliamentary ratification of the April summit accord between the two Koreas, following this week's inter-Korean summit.

Rival parties earlier agreed to handle the government's proposal on the ratification of the Panmunjom Declaration after President Moon Jae-in's third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The North's leader agreed to "permanently" dismantle a key missile-testing site under the observation of international experts. He also expressed the country's readiness to close its nuclear complex in Yongbyon, depending on corresponding actions by Washington.

The DP denounced conservative opposition parties for underestimating the latest summit deal and called for bipartisan cooperation in ratifying the April summit agreement.

"The Pyongyang summit deal set the stage for the Koreas to live without fears over war. We anticipate a declaration to end the 1950-53 Korean War this year," Hong Young-pyo, the floor leader of the DP, said at a policy meeting with party officials.

He called for the ratification of the summit agreement signed by Moon and Kim at the truce village of Panmunjom on April 27.

"The main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) should decide until when it will serve as a bystander or an obstructor when it comes to peace," Hong added.

President Moon hopes inter-Korean summit agreements can survive government changes through parliamentary ratification. The summit agreements in 2000 and 2007 were not ratified, which led their implementation to fizzle out under succeeding conservative governments.

The minor opposition Bareunmirae Party expressed its willingness to cooperate on Thursday, though the third-largest party preferred the adoption of a resolution to buttress the agreement as a realistic option prior to ratification.

But the LKP is opposing the ratification, citing a lack of progress in North Korea's denuclearization.

A resolution to support the April summit was put up for a vote in May, but rival parties failed to approve it as they differed on the wording with respect to North Korea's denuclearization. (Yonhap)