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| President Moon Jae-in talks with the leaders of four of the five political parties over tea ahead of their luncheon meeting at Cheong Wa Dae in July last year. / Korea Times photo by Koh Young-kwon |
By Choi Ha-young
President Moon Jae-in will hold a meeting with the leaders of the major political parties at Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday, to discuss pending political and security issues, said Han Byung-do, chief presidential secretary for political affairs.
"Participants will have in-depth talks about inter-Korean relations and peace on the Korean peninsula," Han said in a briefing, Monday. "The meeting aims at bipartisan cooperation over inter-Korean relations, rather than discussing domestic issues such as constitutional revision."
There, Moon is likely to brief them oh the outcome of the special envoys' visit to the North, since the meeting will take place one day after they return to Seoul. The envoys led by Chung Eui-yong, chief of the National Security Office, flew to Pyongyang, Monday, where they are expected to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Cheong Wa Dae said last week that it invited leaders of the five political parties ― the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), major opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP), the centrist Bareun Mirae Party (BMP), minor liberal Party for Democracy and Peace (PDP) and the progressive Justice Party.
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The participants are ― DPK Chairwoman Choo Mi-ae, LKP Chairman Hong Joon-pyo, PDP Chairwoman Cho Bae-sook, Justice Party Chairwoman Lee Jeong-mi. From the BMP, one of the co-chairmen ― Yoo Seong-min and Park Joo-sun ― will attend.
This will be the first time that LKP Chairman Hong visits Cheong Wa Dae since Moon's inauguration. Hong had snubbed the President's previous invitations in July and September last year.
This time, he was again reluctant to take part in the meeting calling for excluding the PDP and the Justice Party, as a condition for his participation, in an apparent bid to monopolize public attention.
A few days after a war of nerves, Hong accepted the invitation. In response to Hong's protests, Cheong Wa Dae indicated it would push ahead with the meeting without Hong's participation.
"The LKP just notified the presidential office that Hong will join the meeting at Cheong Wa Dae," Hong's secretary, Rep. Khang Hyo-shang of the LKP, was quoted as saying. "He will listen to what Moon will say, considering the gravity of the security issues."
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