hankyoreh

South Korea's political parties were unanimous in welcoming the agreement reached in Beijing on Tuesday over dismantling the North's nuclear facilities, calling it an important step toward denuclearization on the peninsula and boosting inter-Korean relations.

"The agreement achieved important progress in resolving the dispute over North Korea's nuclear weapons program," Rep. Woo Sang-ho, spokesman for the ruling Uri Party, said in a briefing.

North Korea agreed Tuesday to eventually dismantle its nuclear facilities in return for up to one million tons of heavy fuel oil and other economic and diplomatic benefits. The burden for the aid will be equally shared by the other parties involved in the six-party talks -- South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, according to a joint statement.

The major opposition Grand National Party concurred. "We believe it is the first step toward dismantling the North Korean nuclear program, which has driven the Korean Peninsula toward a security crisis," said Rep. Yoo Ki-june, spokesman for the GNP.

Concerning Seoul's share of the provision committed to Pyongyang, the ruling and opposition parties agreed that it is a necessary expense to prevent enormous economic damage that could possibly be caused by security tension from the nuclear dispute.

The conservative opposition GNP cautioned the government "not to get ahead of other countries in providing the aid or paying more than its share."

Seoul, Feb. 13 (Yonhap News)