Democratic Party Shows Conciliatory Gesture Despite North Korea Provocations... Also Calls for Disbanding the South Korea-US Working Group

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Despite North Korea raising the level of criticism against South Korea while hinting at military actions, the ruling party, the Democratic Party of Korea, is maintaining a conciliatory stance. Within the party, there are even radical claims blaming the 'Korea-US Working Group' for the deterioration of inter-Korean relations and calling for its disbandment, which is expected to cause repercussions.

On the 15th, Hong Ik-pyo, a Democratic Party lawmaker, stated in an interview with MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' that "there have been practical economic cooperation and various agreements between the two Koreas, but such measures are all blocked by the Korea-US Working Group," adding, "This is an unnecessary regulation."

He continued, "Even matters that could pass through the UN Security Council's North Korea Sanctions Committee are being blocked by the Working Group. It is time to resolve the problem of the Working Group structure, which is effectively a superimposed layer," and said, "I think we need to persuade the United States to allow practical economic cooperation measures that do not involve military use by North Korea. I believe the US also needs a progressive judgment and a change in stance on this matter."

Jung Se-hyun, Senior Vice Chairman of the National Unification Advisory Council, also agreed with the US responsibility theory. Especially, he expressed the view that in a situation where North Korea's rhetoric is expected to become stronger, the US should be persuaded to show North Korea a message that it will faithfully implement the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration and the September 19 Pyongyang Joint Declaration. Appearing on tbs Radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' on the same day, Senior Vice Chairman Jung said, "The US has been constantly tying our hands, and it was the same during the Kaesong Industrial Complex and Mount Kumgang tourism," adding, "Without the courage to sit down and shout at the US, inter-Korean relations cannot move forward even a step. Regarding North Korea policy, we need to have several prior consultations with the US, and if that does not work, we have no choice but to take action and move forward."

Minister of Unification Kim Yeon-cheol and Senior Vice Chairman of the National Unification Advisory Council Jeong Se-hyun are sharing their opinions at the '1st Anniversary Commemoration of the September 19 Peace Joint Declaration' held on the 19th at the Inter-Korean Summit Headquarters in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyeong aymsdream@

Currently, the Democratic Party seems to be using the prior implementation of existing inter-Korean declarations as a breakthrough for improving relations. First, 173 lawmakers from the ruling and allied parties, including Kim Kyung-hyup of the Democratic Party, plan to propose a 'Resolution Urging a Korean Peninsula End-of-War Declaration' on the same day. The resolution calls for ▲the prompt execution of an end-of-war declaration by the parties involved?South Korea, North Korea, the US, and China ▲the start of discussions on a legally binding peace agreement ▲achieving results in North Korea-US denuclearization negotiations ▲implementation of the inter-Korean summit declarations ▲inter-Korean cooperation to support residents suffering from COVID-19 ▲and active international participation in efforts toward the end-of-war declaration.

In addition, the Democratic Party is considering pushing for the National Assembly's ratification of past North Korea-related declarations, including the Panmunjom Declaration, the July 4 South-North Joint Statement, and the June 15 Declaration, as a party policy.

However, public opinion does not seem to fully lean toward either a hardline or conciliatory approach. According to a survey conducted by Realmeter on the 12th at the request of YTN The News regarding support for the National Assembly's ratification of the Panmunjom Declaration, 41.4% responded that they support ratification for reasons such as establishing institutional grounds for improving inter-Korean relations. In contrast, 31.1% opposed ratification due to reasons such as requiring North Korea's denuclearization first and budget expenditures. Meanwhile, 27.5% responded that they were unsure.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.