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The Democratic Labor Party on Monday distanced itself from North Korea over the involvement of senior party members in an espionage scandal in 2005. The DLP demanded that North Korea stop interfering with the party's affairs. In an open report posted on its website, the DLP said, "We strongly protest at North Korean authorities for their attempt to destroy the party's independence and self-relianceˇ± in the so-called Ilsimhoe case. ˇ°We demand that North Korea immediately stop interfering with a progressive party of the South."
On Sunday, the DLP decided to expel Choi Ki-young, former vice secretary general of the party, and Lee Jung-hoon, a former member of the party Central Committee who are serving prison terms after they were convicted of reporting on the South Korean political scene for Pyongyang.
Prosecutors found that Choi and Lee had gathered inside information on the DLP and other aspects of South Korean society. It has been about a year and three months since the Ilsimhoe case came to light, but until recently the DLP had been reluctant to address the issue due to the dominance of the aggressively pro-Pyongyang national liberation faction in the party.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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