Ruling party floor leader urges N.K. to make wise choice amid rocket site speculation

SEOUL, March 11 (Yonhap) -- Hong Young-pyo, floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), called on North Korea on Monday to make a wise decision for peace amid reports about its restoration of a rocket launch site.

At a parliamentary speech during an extra session in March, Hong voiced grave concerns about reports on increased activity in the North's long-range missile launch site in Dongchang-ri.

"If something goes wrong, future negotiations could hit a snag severely. North Korea should make a wise judgment that benefits everyone," Hong said.

Speculation about North Korea's possible rocket launch has risen as U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ended their summit on Feb. 27-28 in Hanoi without any agreement.

A series of reports by Seoul's spy agency and two U.S. think tanks show some restoration work at the North's long-range missile launch site in Dongchang-ri.

U.S. news media also reported increased activity at the missile assembly facility in Sanum-dong, spawning speculation about the North's possible preparation to launch a missile or a satellite-carrying rocket.

Hong highly assessed the significance of the summit though Trump and Kim failed to reach an agreement on the scope of denuclearization and sanctions relief.

"Despite the gap between the U.S. and North Korea, both sides (have vowed to) continue talks, which raises a possibility of an ultimate breakthrough (down the road)," he said.

Hong also stressed the need for South Korea to play a facilitator role in pushing forward dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang.

"We are the core party to the peace-making process on the Korean Peninsula," he said.

The DP floor leader called for bipartisan cooperation in efforts to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula.

"When the conservative and liberal blocs join hands, we can advance the time for peace," he noted. "I appeal for bipartisan cooperation in writing a new history of peace and co-existence on the peninsula."

sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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