President Lee Myung-bak returned to his office on Wednesday after 12 days abroad and knuckled down to urgent matters like rising tensions with Pyongyang and the ailing economy.

Lee met with the foreign and unification ministers and his senior secretary for national security. Pyongyang on Monday said it will suspend a tour program to the border city of Kaesong and cross-border train operations next week.

In the closed session, Lee was briefed on measures taken in response to Pyongyang's decision. No details were disclosed, but the top office said its principle was to maintain a sincere and consistent policy toward North Korea regardless of the situation. Lee recently said waiting was sometimes the right strategy in dealing with North Korea.

But with the unification minister now saying the Kim Jong-il regime could possibly also close down the inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex completely, a GNP lawmaker proposed Wednesday to send a special envoy to the reclusive state.

He suggested former president Kim Dae-jung or former GNP chairwoman Park Geun-hye. But other conservative politicians say the Lee administration should not respond to Pyongyang's pressure tactics.

Also on Wednesday, Lee spent nearly seven hours meeting with Prime Minister Han Seung-soo, senior aides and ministers responsible for economic policies.

After briefings on measures taken while he was away, he called on officials to find new approaches to overcome the economic downturn.

Arirang News