Lawmakers rebuke government over N. Korea disclosure

Lawmakers blasted the Cabinet Thursday over North Korea’s disclosure that the South had proposed in clandestine meetings to hold a summit with the North.

On the second day of the parliamentary interpellation, the ruling Grand National Party called into question the administration’s covert approach to the North while keeping a tough stance overtly. The main opposition Democratic Party rebuked the government broadly.

“The Unification Ministry, Cheong Wa Dae and the National Intelligence Service officials should have received presidential or ministerial letters of appointment under South-North Relationship Development Act if their meeting with North Korean counterparts was an official talk,” said Rep. Shin Hak-yong of the DP.

“The government, by attempting covert talks without taking such legal processes, has violated the inter-Korean relationship law.”

He demanded that the unification minister, NIS director and the presidential secretary resign.

“It is the ministry’s responsibility to convince the public why such secret moves were needed in order to contrive a summit,” said GNP lawmaker Lee Eun-jae.

Rep. Gu Sang-chan of the GNP scolded the Lee Myung-bak administration for mimicking the previous administration’s soft policy on North Korea.

“We have so far appreciated the consistently hard-line attitude adopted by the current administration, but the recently emerged suspicions make us doubt such beliefs,” the lawmaker said.

North Korea said Wednesday that South Korea had proposed via secret meetings with North Korea to hold summits. It also said that the South begged for an apologetic gesture from the North to appease South Koreans over last year’s attacks on a South Korean naval vessel and on Yeonpyeong Island.

Pyeongyang’s National Defense Commission claimed that South Korea offered an envelope of money.

The prime minister and the unification minister, however, rejected most of the claims.

“Never have we ‘begged’ the North for a summit, nor offered money in exchange,” Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik told the National Assembly.

“Our only focus was to induce North Korea to sincerely apologize for the attacks so as to improve the inter-Korean relationship.”

Unification Minister Hyun In-taek also blamed Pyongyang for attempting to stir internal strife in the South by distorting the truth.

“The government has maintained its North Korea policy consistently ever since the Cheonan sinking and the Yeonpyeong Island bombardment,” the minister said.

The disputed Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement bill was also included in the day’s agenda.

“The U.S. Congress is expected to pass the bill in July-August, though there are diverse arguments,” said the prime minister.

“Considering the timeline, we felt it necessary to bring up the issue during the National Assembly’s June provisional session.”

The Cabinet passed a new version of the FTA bill shortly before the parliamentary interpellation Friday after fixing translation errors.

The four-day interpellation will resume next Wednesday and Thursday.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)