Ruling, opposition parties spar over N.K. policy

President ’gathering opinion’ regarding South’s next move

Since North Korea;s October 9 declaration that it had carried out a nuclear test, the gap has widened between the views of the ruling and opposition parties over future North Korean policy.

In connection with South Korea’s taking part in the weapons of mass destruction Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), in particular, the ruling Uri Party raised objections, while the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) stressed that the government should join the U.S.-led agreement. The PSI is an international joint operation comprised so far of about 70 member nations. They regularly exchange information and conduct training in order to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Despite demands from the United States to join, South Korea has only partly taken part in the PSI as an "observer."

Kim Geun-tae, chairman of the Uri Party, said, "The government should not participate in the U.S.-led PSI. It would not be appropriate, in that the PSI doesn’t rule out the use of military power during the search and seizure of ships."

GNP spokesperson Na Kyung-won said, "Currently, [South Korea] has agreed to the first three phases of the PSI, and we are urging the government to completely take part in the PSI. Even if the U.N. adopts a resolution on North Korea’s nuclear weapons, we can’t actually observe the U.N. resolution. Therefore, we should completely join the seven-phase PSI," Na said.

The Uri Party raised objections to remarks made by President Roh, Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook, and officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade expressing the necessity to change the engagement policy toward the North.

In a statement, Rep. Chun Jung-bae of the Uri Party said, "The engagement policy has problems in reciprocity, transparency, and verification of its effectiveness, but it is unreasonable to blame it for the current crisis. The participatory government lacked consistency in its North Korean policies by suspending humanitarian aid to the North, citing the missile tests. Under such a situation, the South and North couldn’t establish trust and as a result, the South lost the means to persuade the North," Chun said.

Rep. Kang Bong-kyun, a member of the ruling party thought to be more conservatively oriented, stressed, "If the government withdraws laborers and businessmen from Mt. Geumgang (Kumkang) and the Gaeseong (Kaesong) Industrial Complex, the North may misjudge this to mean that there may be military action soon. Considering the effects on the economy, we should maintain the basic course of the engagement policy, which is to solve the problem through dialogue."

Uri Party spokesperson Woo Sang-ho said, "To say that the Sunshine Policy has failed due to North Korea’s nuclear test is a jump of logic."

Regarding to Uri chairman Kim’s remarks, presidential spokesman Yoon Tae-young explained, "President Roh is gathering opinions from the party and leaders of society," meaning that President Roh has not yet decided his future approach to North Korean policy.

A key official at the presidential office said, "Since the North’s proclamation of a nuclear test, President Roh has showed his understanding of the situation: that it is necessary to consider the issue of partly changing the government’s policies against North Korea. He hasn’t stated how he will change the engagement policy toward the North, so the [Uri] party shouldn’t react in an oversensitive way."