In a rare move, the top leaders of the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic United Party have agreed to meet regularly for cooperation in translating their common election pledges into action and addressing other pending issues.

Participating in the high-profile talks will be the chairmen, floor leaders and chief policymakers of the two parties. The six top leaders are expected to hold their inaugural meeting this week.

On Monday, the two parties’ chief policymakers met to set the agenda of the six-member talks. In the political field, they agreed to include in the agenda campaign pledges related to the reform of the National Assembly and political parties.

In the policy realm, they decided to deal primarily with promises concerning economic democratization and people’s livelihoods. The agenda will also include the drafting of a supplementary budget and the government’s real estate policy package unveiled on Monday.

The bipartisan move is welcomed as the parties need to join hands with the new administration to tackle a host of problems facing the nation. Many urgent issues have been left unattended for more than a month due to partisan gridlock over government reorganization.

The Park Geun-hye government has barely started working but there are few things that it can do alone. Furthermore, Park’s repeated personnel appointment failures led many to question her capability to navigate the mounting security and economic challenges ahead of the nation.

While tension has been heightening due to intensifying threats of war from North Korea, the economy has lost much of its growth momentum. As a result, anxiety about the nation’s future has increased sharply among the public.

At this time, political leaders should reassure people by avoiding partisan politics that only do harm to national interests. One thing they need to bear in mind is that the nation can ill afford another long paralysis of the government due to a stand-off between the rival political parties.

One issue that will soon test the commitment of the six leaders to bipartisan cooperation is the government’s plan to create a supplementary budget to boost the sagging economy.

The two parties basically share the view that such a budget is needed to expand job creation and help low-income people make a living. But they differ over its size and how to fund it.

The six leaders should be able to smooth over their differences and help the government implement the budget as early as possible. The economy needs a big boost to get back on its normal growth track and create jobs. Such a bipartisan approach should be applied to other issues.