South Korea's ruling party chief said Sunday he will ask U.S. lawmakers to pass a bill that calls for establishing a "Wall of Remembrance" at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington to honor American service members killed during the war.

Rep. Kim Moo-sung of the Saenuri Party made the remark after paying his respect at the memorial, referring to the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall of Remembrance Act of 2015 that Rep. Sam Johnson introduced in the House in March, together with Reps. Charles Rangel and John Conyers Jr.

The proposed wall would list the names of all American soldiers killed during the war.

"When the Korean War broke out, American troops participated in the war without even knowing Korea's name and history in order to defend liberal democracy from communism. A total of 36,940 were killed, 92,134 were wounded and 8,157 are still missing," Kim said.

"Thanks to the sacrifices of these people does South Korea exist," he said.

Noting that the "Wall of Remembrance" legislation is still pending in the House, Kim said, "We, Saenuri Party legislators, will lobby the U.S. Congress to help pass the bill."

Kim later visited the Arlington National Cemetery and paid his respect there.

Kim arrived in Washington on Saturday for a nine-day visit that will also take him to New York and Los Angeles.

While in Washington, Kim plans to meet with government officials and congressional leaders, including Rep. Steny Hoyer, the second-ranking member of the House Democratic leadership; Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who is Hoyer's Republican counterpart; and Rep. Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Kim also plans to hold meetings with Korean Peninsula security experts at major think tanks. (Yonhap)