Related persons said the two decided to "share responsibilities" by holding regular party meetings and Roh said this was different from the caucuses of "old politics," as the compromise was not bought by selling ministerial posts. MDP Spokesman Lee Nak-yon said it was not a shared government, but a shared responsibility, while NA 21 Spokeswoman Kim Haeng said the party had not asked for ministers, but did not answer when asked if representatives from it would sit in the cabinet.

After the meeting, on Friday, Roh and Chung held their first joint election campaign speech in Daejeon.

On the subject of "shared responsibilities," Grand National Party (GNP) leader Suh Chung-won said at a press conference that it was as political as the so-called DJP alliance of five years ago and that this kind of "alliance" will ruin state affairs.

(Choi Joon-seo, jschoi@chosun.com )