Lawmakers pass resolution honoring Korea-U.S. alliance as pact turns 70

The National Assembly passed a resolution Friday calling for the strengthening of Korea’s alliance with the United States to mark the 70th anniversary of the security pact this year.

The resolution passed with 245 votes in favor and nine abstentions out of 254 lawmakers who attended the parliamentary plenary session.

It commemorates the bilateral alliance based on the Korea-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty signed in October 1953, some two months after the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

The resolution was passed by the parliamentary foreign affairs committee earlier this month.

The National Assembly reaffirmed that the alliance “was the foundation for the Republic of Korea’s democratization and economic growth and continues to function as a linchpin of peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula, the region and the world.”

It stressed the need to “reciprocally expand and improve the alliance for mutual prosperity” in line with the 70th anniversary of the alliance.

The resolution further called for the strengthening of cooperative relations in the fields of economic security and technology alongside existing cooperation in diplomacy and defense.

It urged the two governments — as an “economic security and technology alliance” — to deepen cooperation in fields like semiconductors, cyber security, artificial intelligence, nuclear power, space technology and energy, as well as work together to stabilize the global supply chain.

The resolution also called to step up legal and policy support for the “global strategic comprehensive alliance,” referring to the agreement to upgrade bilateral ties made by President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden in their first summit in Seoul in May 2022.

The Assembly also expressed concern over North Korea’s recent nuclear and missile provocations and called for the alliance to make practical efforts to effectively deter such threats while working to bring lasting peace on the peninsula through dialogue with the North.

It also called to strengthen parliamentary exchanges between the two countries.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]