Ruling party chief asks Biden admin to keep 2018 deal between Kim Jong-un, Trump

SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Yonhap) -- The ruling party chairman expressed hope Friday that a 2018 deal signed between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and President Donald Trump will be retained under the incoming U.S. administration under President-elect Joe Biden.

"I wish that South Korea and the U.S. will work together to reactivate the Korean Peninsula peace process," Rep. Lee Nak-yon, the chairman of Democratic Party, said during a top party council meeting.

"The starting point for that will be the reaffirmation of the 2018 Singapore agreement between the U.S. and North Korea," Lee said, referring to the joint statement signed by Kim and Trump during their first summit meeting that year.

"I wish that it could be maintained under the Biden administration," the party leader said.

In the statement, the two nations agreed to the establishment of "new relations," joint efforts to build a peace regime on the peninsula as well as effort on the North Korean side for the "complete denuclearization" of the peninsula.

No clear progress has been made, however, in the implementation of the Kim-Trump deal as working-level talks between the countries remain stalled.

"It is the first ever agreement in history forged between the leaders of North Korea and the U.S.," Lee stressed. "It has legitimacy and authority, and to its content the South and North Koreas and the U.S. have all agreed," he added.

Lee's remarks followed the first phone call held between President Moon Jae-in and Biden on Thursday. The two reaffirmed their commitment to their countries' alliance and peace on the peninsula.

pbr@yna.co.kr
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