The chairwoman of South Korea's parliamentary committee on foreign affairs sent letters to her counterparts in the United States, China, Japan and Russia Thursday seeking cooperation in sanctions against North Korea due to its recent nuclear and long-range missile tests.
In the letters, Rep. Na Kyung-won of the ruling Saenuri Party denounced North Korea for carrying out its fourth nuclear test and missile launch in violation of U.N. resolutions.
On Sunday, North Korea launched a long-range rocket carrying a satellite in what the outside world criticized as a test of ballistic missile technology.
The launch came on the heels of the communist country's surprise nuclear test on Jan. 6.
"North Korea's provocations to establish its status as a nuclear power escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula and cause severe threats to peace and stability in Northeast Asia and the international community at large," the head of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee said.
The lawmaker said it is time for the international community, including South Korea, to cooperate and take practical and stern actions to fundamentally resolve the North's nuclear issue and establish peace.
In the letter sent to Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee in the U.S., she called for continued attention and support to complete the legislation on North Korean sanctions.
On Wednesday, U.S. senators voted unanimously to pass the North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2016, demonstrating bipartisan support for a tough response to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests.
It has to pass the House again before heading to President Barack Obama. If passed by the House, it will be the first sanctions legislation exclusively targeting North Korea to pass both the House and the Senate. (Yonhap)
