Parties welcome results of inter-Korean summit

South Korea’s ruling party on Sunday welcomed President Moon Jae-in’s second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, lauding it for rekindling peace-building efforts on the peninsula.

The secretly arranged summit was held on the northern side of the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjeom on Saturday afternoon at the suggestion of the North Korean leader.

Kim reaffirmed his determination to give up the country’s nuclear weapons program and hold the summit with US President Donald Trump scheduled for June 12. The surprise Moon-Kim talks came after Trump alluded to a possible cancellation of the summit, only to suggest later it would go ahead.

The second South-North summit produced substance that is more meaningful than the dramatic format in which it was held,” said Baek Hye-ryun, spokeswoman of the ruling Democratic Party, in a commentary.

“President Moon’s mediating efforts managed to rekindle the flame of peace-building after the misunderstanding and tension caused in the process of arranging a North Korea-US summit led to a ‘ground zero’ situation,” she noted.

With Kim’s determination to hold the summit with the US and denuclearize, Saturday’s meeting “created momentum for efforts to build peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula,” according to the spokeswoman. She also called for bipartisan support from opposition parties for Moon’s policy efforts.

The minor opposition Bareun Party also echoed the view.

“We welcome the South-North summit meeting held at the request of Chairman Kim Jong-un and his expression of determination for denuclearization and peace-building on the Korean Peninsula through the North-US summit,” party spokeswoman Shin Yong-hyeon said.

“It is very meaningful for setting a precedent for an inter-Korean summit that can be held without formalities whenever it is required,” she also said.

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party did not immediately issue a statement on the inter-Korean summit. Its Chairman Hong Joon-pyo was expected to comment on the developments in a press conference scheduled for later in the day.

On Saturday, the hard-line conservative party berated the administration over the second inter-Korean summit meeting.

“(The meeting) took place without informing the public, and (it was in an) impulsive, fulgurous, secretive and slipshod (manner),” Liberty Korea Party spokesman Rep. Choung Tae-ok said in a statement Saturday.

“(The party) cannot but point to problems regarding the process, transparency and relations with allies.”

He also said that Saturday’s meeting would raise numerous questions.

By Choi He-suk and news reports (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)