SEOUL, June 5 (Xinhua) -- South Korean lawmakers, excluding the main opposition party, agreed Monday to push the adoption of the resolution calling for the reunion of separated families from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
The agreement was reached at the meeting among National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun and floor leaders of the ruling Democratic Party and two minor opposition parties including the centrist People's Party and the minor conservative Righteous Party, according to local media reports.
The main opposition Liberty Korea Party declined to join the meeting to protest against the parliament's passage last week of the bill to approve the nomination of Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon.
The three parties would push to adopt the resolution demanding the reunion of the families separated along the inter-Korean border, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War, on the upcoming August 15 Liberation Day.
The Korean Peninsula was liberated on August 15 in 1945 from 36 years of Japanese colonial rule.
The two Koreas technically remained in a state of war as the fratricidal war ended in truce, not a peace treaty. No phone call and exchange of letters have since been banned.
The latest reunion of the divided families was held in October 2015. The emotionally charged event has not been held since then due to the escalated tensions on the peninsula, which came from the DPRK's nuclear tests in 2016 and ballistic missile test-launches.
The Moon Jae-in government maintained a position that it would flexibly review civilian exchanges within a range of not damaging international sanctions toward the DPRK though it would sternly deal with any provocations.
