Saenuri urges N. Korea to join Iran's path

South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party said Saturday it greets Iran's latest move to join the denuclearization drive, adding that North Korea should also take similar steps in response to international efforts.

"(The Iran agreement) came as a result of the international cooperation for denuclearization. We hope the move will have a positive impact on talks with North Korea as well," the party said in its statement.

"We hope that North Korea follows the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and joins the denuclearization move on the Korean Peninsula," the party added. "As Iran has set a good example, the North should end its greed for nukes and open its door to save the lives of its people."

The Iran deal, announced earlier this week in Lausanne, Switzerland, calls for limiting Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the U.S. and other countries lifting sanctions that have stifled the Middle Eastern nation's economy. Negotiators plan to put the tentative deal into a final agreement by June 30.

The agreement represents the crystallization of more than a dozen years of efforts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy also greeted Iran's move, but added that the South Korean government should end its move to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in the country as it may break peace with the North.

"In such situations, the ruling party-led attempt to deploy THAAD contradicts the efforts to make a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula," the opposition said.

THAAD has been the focus of attention in South Korea, as Washington has expressed its willingness to deploy one here. This has sparked concerns and objections from the opposition party, as well as its neighbors including China and Russia. (Yonhap)