Two lawmakers of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) have proposed a joint resolution to ruling party lawmakers on the removal of the so-called May 24 sanctions against North Korea.
 
Representatives Kim Sung-gon and Shim Jae-kwon made the proposal when they visited the Russian border city of Khasan for a field survey regarding the Rajin-Khasan logistics project last week. Both Kim and Shim are members of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee.
 
Shim said in the draft resolution that the May 24 sanctions, which were slapped on North Korea after it torpedoed the South’s Cheonan naval vessel in 2010, have failed to meet intended policy goals. He added that the sanctions are only hampering efforts to improve inter-Korean ties and proposed that lifting the sanctions would mark the starting point for normalizing South-North relations.
 
In response, ruling Saenuri Party lawmaker Yoo Ki-june, who is also a member of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, said he fundamentally agrees on the need to lift the sanctions. He added, however, that the North must take steps regarding the Cheonan incident, which include giving an apology, to ease inter-Korean tensions on the issue.