[Interview] Labor Party chair plans visit to North

Rep. Roh Hoe-chan.

Delegation of 15 to meet high-ranking N.K. officials

In the midst of growing tension on the Korean peninsula due to North Korea’s recent nuclear test, a delegation of the progressive opposition Democratic Labor Party (DLP) will visit the communist nation on October 31. The DLP recently feuded over its official position on the North after the reclusive nation’s nuclear test on October 9. Rep. Roh Hoe-chan said he will "make sure the North understands that it is really regrettable that the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula has turned to failure because of the nuclear test." He said he will urge Pyongyang to return to the six-party talks.

DLP’s 15 leaders, such as Reps. Roh and Kwon Young-ghil and party chairman Moon Sung-hyun, will meet high-ranking North Korean officials, including Kim Young-nam, standing committee chairman of the Supreme People’s Assembly, and Kim Kye-kwan, vice foreign minister, during a five-day visit to Pyongyang.

The following is a question-and-answer session with Rep. Roh.

Question: Don’t you feel any hesitation about visiting North Korea after its nuclear test?

Answer: Our visit was by invitation of the North’s Korean Social Democratic Party. This is the second time they have invited us this year. Because of the North’s nuclear test, we requested a meeting with the officials responsible.

Q: What are you going to talk to them about?

A: We will make sure the North understands that it is really regrettable that the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula has turned to failure because of the nuclear test. We will stress that Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons should be scrapped in a peaceful way, and for this goal, we will urge North Korea to resume dialogue. No matter to whom the nuclear weapons are aimed, their existence itself is dangerous. The six-party talks are important. The talks began after the United States rejected bilateral talks with North Korea. We can’t agree with the idea of owning nuclear bombs simply for the reason that North Korea’s dialouge with the U.S. is not going well.

Q: The conservatives may launch political attacks regarding the DLP’s visit to North Korea.

A: We aren’t visiting North Korea from a political calculation. We are visiting the North for the people’s safety and for the future of the Korean peninsula. Thoughts of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) that dialogue with North Korea is no longer necessary neither reflects the public view nor is a solution to the problem. Even during the Park Chung-hee, Chun Doo-hwan, and Roh Tae-woo presidential regimes, the South and the North held dialogue. Only the Syngman Rhee regime rejected dialogue with Pyongyang. The GNP is not entitled to take power. To stop the Mt. Geumgang (Kumgang) tourism and Gaeseong (Kaesong) industrial complex projects is merely an emotional response. Will this response be able to make the North’s nuclear weapons disappear? Our position is different from that of the U.S. and Japan. When a war breaks out, we will directly be victimized. Only South-North exchange can stop extreme clashes.

Q: Some figures of the DLP claim that we should accept North’s nuclear weapons on the level of its self-defense. There seems to be a serious gap of views surrounding North Korea’s nuclear weapons.

A: This was a misstatement of a party member. He apologized for the remark at a party’s conference. There were discussions over the party’s position on the North’s nuclear test, but any dissension was not serious.

Q: The position of the liberal camp, which has supported the engagement policy on North Korea, has been in trouble, and there are doubts about maintaining the engagement policy.

A: South Koreans’ sense of betrayal and disappointment toward the North really exists. At the same time, the liberals, who have backed the engagement policy, have become targets of such national sentiment. However, we can’t blame the engagement policy for the North’s nuclear test. The current situation is a crisis for the liberal camp, but an opportunity, as well. Under circumstances where peace is threatened, we should spread a message that "peace is the only way for survival."