Gov't to submit ratification motion for April summit
Im Jong-seok, President Moon Jae'in's chief of staff, announces plans to invite leaders of the ruling and opposition parties to join the visit to Pyongyang for summit between the two Koreas, September 18-20, at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday. Yonhap
By Kim Yoo-chul
Opposition parties, Assembly Speaker refuse to accept invitation to Pyongyang
By Kim Yoo-chul
The government plans to submit a motion to the National Assembly, today, to ratify the Panmunjeom Declaration signed by President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after their first summit April, 27.
“The government plans to submit a motion for the ratification of the Panmunjeom Declaration reached by the leaders of the two Koreas in April, as scheduled,” Cheong Wa Dae said Monday.
The presidential office said receiving approval from the National Assembly for the ratification was a prerequisite to push inter-Korean relations forward regardless of the political situation.
In a media briefing, Moon's chief of staff Im Jong-seok said the presidential preparatory committee for the Sept. 18 to 20 summit plans to invite leaders of the ruling and opposition parties to join the visit to Pyongyang.
“Cheong Wa Dae cordially invites the floor leaders of the five parties, National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang and the head of the Assembly Foreign and Unification Affairs Committee as part of concerted efforts for better inter-Korean relations.”
“It's understandable that the invitation may have seen as a political burden to some of them. But as the two Koreas are at a critical stage in moving toward a permanent peace, I want all the invitees to accept this sincere invitation,” Im, who also heads the preparatory committee, said in a briefing at Cheong Wa Dae.
“We also want business leaders to join us. The South's delegation will include 200 people, including about 50 journalists. The final number could be changed depending on the circumstances.”
The invitation came a few hours after the ruling and opposition parties decided to delay ratification of the motion until after the summit.
The Panmunjeom Declaration highlights the commitment by the two Koreas to completely denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, stop all hostile acts toward each other and boost inter-Korean cooperation.
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is the strongest supporter of the government's moves to ratify the declaration; but opposition politicians have raised concerns, citing the North's lack of progress on denuclearization.
The main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) has declined to support the declaration, while the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party (BMP) said it will offer “conditional support” upon the progress of denuclearization.
“After reviewing the government's official proposal to ratify the declaration filed with the National Assembly, we are going to discuss it thoroughly and sufficiently once the summit is over,” said Rep. Hong Young-pyo, floor leader of the DPK.
The LKP criticized the government's proposal as a “political tactic.” The party's interim chief Kim Byung-joon refused to accept the invitation. The National Assembly speaker's office said the speaker would also not be part of the delegation.
Only the minor liberal party for Democracy and Peace and the most-progressive Justice Party accepted the invitation, alongside the DPK.
In a recent poll commissioned by the Assembly speaker's secretariat, more than seven out of 10 South Koreans favored ratification of the declaration.
A survey of 1,005 voters conducted by pollster Gallup Korea, Aug. 21 and 22 showed 13.6 percent opposed the ratification, while 71.8 percent of respondents said the declaration “should be ratified.” It had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points within a 95 percent confidence level.
Given the huge gaps in infrastructure, education and healthcare between the two Koreas, economists estimate the South would have to pay “billions of dollars” to push its inter-Korean projects forward.
“Just how much South Korea is willing to invest in and benefit from the investment, the economic potential of North Korea, which is still highly unpredictable, is yet to be calculated. This is why the ratification proposal isn't being welcomed. President Moon needs something concrete and solid to justify his ambitious proposal,” said Moon Sung-mook, a senior researcher at the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy.
Citigroup, a major investment banking group in the United States, estimates the cost of rebuilding North Korea's transportation and energy infrastructure such as railroads, airports, seaports, power plants and gas pipelines could stand at $63.1 billion as the reclusive state has been hit heavily by sanctions, and its economy relies on China.