The Grand National Party's announcement that it will review the underlying tone of its North Korea policy is causing disputes within and outside the party. The GNP leadership explains that, given the rapid progress being made in U.S.-North Korea relations, the review is unavoidable to adapt to the changing international weather map. It comes from a calculation that being seen to insist on a hardline policy would affect the opposition party adversely in the upcoming presidential election. But some conservative lawmakers have slammed it as ¡°bending the knee¡± before North Korea.
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Former Seoul mayor Lee Myung-bak, in traditional attire, strikes a gong on Wednesday at a traditional village in Yeongju City, North Gyeongsang Province.
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¡ß Leading presidential contenders welcome review
"The underlying tone is correct. My own North Korea doctrine far exceeds the proposed changes," former Seoul mayor Lee Myung-bak said Wednesday. "Provided that the North Korean nuclear crisis is resolved, there is no reason to oppose to the normalization of diplomatic ties between the U.S. and North Korea." Former GNP chairwoman Park Geun-hye said through her spokesman Han Sun-kyo, "Depending on whether the phased implementation of the six-nation pact on North Korea's nuclear development program happens, inter-Korean exchanges can I think be expanded without limit." Park believes an inter-Korean summit is acceptable regardless of the timing, always provided that North Korea¡¯s nuclear facilities are dismantled, the spokesman added.
Former Gyeonggi provincial governor Sohn Hak-kyu's spokesman Lee Su-won said, "Late as it is, it's lucky that the party is moving toward reconciliation and away from confrontation and dispute. In a situation where the shutdown of North Korean nuclear devices is progressing rapidly, we should expedite assistance to North Korea." Lee said what was needed was not simple aid but a phased and systematic program for the recovery of the North's economy. Sohn ¡°has a program for reconstructing the North Korean economy,¡± he added.
¡ß No objection to Won't Be Opposed"
GNP floor leader Kim Hyong-o said Wednesday, "Given that North Korea has started taking steps to dismantle its nuclear facilities, it's the task of the GNP to help the North implement the early-phase measures properly." On a possible inter-Korean summit talk, the floor leader said, "There is a distinct difference in the situation before and after the Feb. 13 six-nation accord. If steps toward disabling North Korea's nuclear weapons facilities are properly implemented, a North-South Korean summit is fine." He said the GNP has been negative about the chief inter-Korean economic projects -- tours to Mt.Kumgang and the Kaesong Industrial Complex -- ¡°out of fear that they would be abused to help the North's development of nuclear weapons. But if the nuclear facilities are disabled, we will no longer take issue with the projects."
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Former GNP chairwoman Park Geun-hye on Wednesday talks with an elderly vendor at a traditional market in Sancheong County, South Gyeongsang Province./Yonhap
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¡ß Converted detractor of the Sunshine Policy
Rep. Chung Hyung-keun, a member of the party leadership, leads the policy shift. On Wednesday, he was named head of a taskforce for a general review of the policy. The progressive camp once called him "a sniper at the Sunshine Policy." One reasons why the party needs to change, he said, is that "U.S.-North Korea diplomatic relations and an inter-Koran summit could happen earlier than expected. The party must map out ways to deal with them promptly." Noting that major changes are taking place in the Bush administration's North Korea policy, he added, "The GNP won't stand alone and oppose the developments." The party reached "a political judgment," he said, that alienating the GNP from the process of discussing a peace framework for the Korean Peninsula in line with the changing position of the U.S. government could adversely affect the party in the December presidential election. With the proviso that there should be no government attempt to make political capital from an inter-Korean summit, Chung said, "We don't oppose it if it is needed for resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis and building a peace framework on the peninsula." On the Washington-Pyongyang rapprochement, he said, "If it's an opportunity to resolve the nuclear issue and open North Korea, we have no reason at all to oppose it."
¡ß Resistance
But some GNP conservatives are in revolt. Kim Yong-kap asserted in a press release on Wednesday that "opportunistic" lawmakers are attempting to effect a radical change. "However strong a peace offensive it may mount, North Korea won't easily dismantle its nuclear weapons," he said. "The GNP will win the presidential election only if it instills trust in the population, without being swayed by the influence from the North." Rep. Lee Hae-bong advised against blind following of changes, reasoning, "The top priority is accurately to ascertain North Korea's intentions about its nuclear weapons and the true intent of the United States. Assistance to the North is possible only after that."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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