Lawmakers urge revival of U.S.-North Korea talks

Lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and other parties on Friday proposed a resolution calling for the swift resumption of talks between North Korea and the United States and efforts to establish a permanent peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.

The resolution also calls on the South Korean government to support a Korean American civic group's plan for a civilian delegation to accompany U.S. President Donald Trump should he hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang.

The Korean American Public Action Committee has said it plans to organize a delegation of civilians and Korean American families separated from their North Korean relatives to accompany Trump if such a summit takes place.

Led by DP Rep. Song Young-gil, the resolution was signed by 83 other DP lawmakers, two lawmakers from the minor Rebuilding Korea Party, independent Rep. Choi Hyuck-jin and Rep. Cho Kyung-tae — the only lawmaker from the main opposition People Power Party to join.

“The resolution comes in response to the support of 52 members of the U.S. House of Representatives for the Peace on the Korean Peninsula Act, which seeks to turn the 1950-53 Korean War armistice into a peace treaty and normalize diplomatic ties,” Song said during a press conference at the National Assembly.

Song urged the government and parliament to play an active role as a “pacemaker” in facilitating a U.S.-North Korea summit and called for a parliamentary delegation to be dispatched to Washington to seek U.S. support.

Yonhap