‘Roh Empowers 3 Confidants With North Korea Card’

By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter

Rep. Kim Hyeong-joo of the pro-government Uri Party singled out Thursday three politicians who are believed to have been empowered by President Roh Moo-hyun to play the ``North Korea card.''

They include two former Prime Ministers Han Myeong-sook and Lee Hae-chan, along with Rep. Kim Hyuk-kyu of the Uri Party, the lawmaker said in an interview with Dong-A Ilbo newspaper.

Kim Hyeong-joo accompanied former Prime Minister Han on her visit to Moscow to attend the funeral of the late Russian President Boris Yelsin.

His observation came amid reports that Han carried a letter from Roh to Russian President Vladimir Putin asking Moscow to join in a cross-continent railway project.

It is unclear why Roh sent such a letter to Putin because the Russian government has already expressed enthusiasm for the project, party sources said.

They added President Roh probably intends to empower some of his closest political allies to play the North Korea card to help them in the lead-up to the Dec. 19 presidential race.

Han has declared her bid for the presidential election, while the remaining two have yet to clarify if they are seeking nomination.

Former Prime Minister Lee visited Pyongyang in March and on his return to Seoul called for a four-way summit of the two Koreas, the U.S. and China before the election.

Lee is scheduled to visit the U.S. soon and meet Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to discuss the possibility of a multilateral summit, according to an inside source.

Rep. Kim Hyuk-kyu, the former governor of South Gyeongsang Province, is currently in Pyongyang to discuss ways of boosting inter-Korean economic cooperation.

Rep. Yang Hung-il, spokesperson of a group of 20-odd lawmakers who deserted the Uri Party, argued that the pro-government party's North Korea rush is a political move ahead of the presidential poll.

He pointed out that during previous presidential campaigns, North Korea was one of core campaign issues.

The question is if the president has influence over the nomination, political insiders said.

Given the unique political circumstances, the incumbent president can enjoy considerable influence over who is nominated, they added.

They pointed out two factors shaping the unique political environment _ Roh's surging approval ratings in the late-term period and lackluster progress on the creation of a new party by the Uri deserters.

They said these factors create a favorable environment for the president to have a greater say in the nomination.

Pollsters said the successful conclusion of free trade talks with the U.S. in early April raised Roh's approval ratings.

According to the latest poll by the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper, Roh's approval rating has surged to 31.1 percent.

hkang@koreatimes.co.kr

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