MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The South Korean political parties welcome peaceful intentions of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, local media reported Friday.
Earlier in the day, Kim called in his New Year's national address to open a new era for national reunification and improve relations with South Korea.
"It is significant that Kim expressed his willingness to improve the inter-Korean relationship," a spokesman of the ruling Saenuri party said, as quoted by the Yonhap news agency.
The main opposition Minjoo Party also welcomed Kim's move.
South and North remain legally at war, as no peace treaty was signed after the Korean War of 1950-1953.
Long-standing tensions between the two Koreas escalated again in late August when cross-border artillery fire erupted along the Demilitarized Zone, prompting Pyongyang to declare what it described as a "semi-state of war." The two countries eventually defused tensions in a series of talks.
