By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
President Lee Myung-bak responded negatively Wednesday to the idea of sending a special envoy to North Korea to seek a possible breakthrough in the stalemate in inter-Korean relations.
``At this moment, it would be difficult for the North to accept an envoy and it would not do that,'' he told reporters during a meeting at Cheong Wa Dae.
Lee said the issue should be resolved based on principles, noting that the shooting of an unarmed female tourist in the back by a North Korean soldier goes against a principle.
Chairman Park Hee-tae of the governing Grand National Party (GNP) was going to suggest the plan to President Lee, a GNP spokesman said earlier in the day.
Tensions have been mounting in inter-Korean relations after a South Korean tourist was shot dead during a tour of Mt. Geumgang.
Rep. Cha Myeong-jin told reporters that Chairman Park was scheduled to propose it to Lee sometime this week, saying ``One of the experienced politicians in the GNP will be selected to take on the crucial job.''
Cha refused to say who the person might be, but confirmed former GNP Chairwoman Park, who met North Korea leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang in 2002, is a likely candidate.
The move comes after Chairman Park said on a cable television interview that sending an envoy to Pyongyang was an option that he thought would help thaw tensions between Seoul and Pyongyang.
``Seoul also has to look at other options that can convince the North to co-operate in a fact-finding investigation into the cause of the shooting of the tourist,'' the chairman said.
After the interview, the former party chairwoman said she had not heard about the plan.
In her 2002 visit to Pyongyang, she sat down with Kim Jong-il and the atmosphere in the one-on-one talks was friendly, according to reports.
The former GNP chairwoman later told reporters that she and Kim had extensive discussions on inter-Korean relations, including prisoners of war and reunification, and that Kim pledged he would cooperate with the government to move these issues forward.
``After the meeting, I was convinced that Seoul could help Pyongyang open its economy as long as it follows consistent principles,'' she said.
She maintained a hard line North Korea policy featuring economic assistance to Pyongyang in return for the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement of its nuclear programs.
Last year, she proposed what she called a kitchen table North Korea strategy, putting a variety of foods on the table to refer to the options the North can take in negotiations. Based on the choices that the North makes, the South should employ either sticks or carrots.
She maintained the government should draw a clear line between dos and don'ts for the North and then take action against Pyongyang if it crosses the line.
Shortly after the South Korean tourist was killed in July, she urged the government to investigate the case thoroughly.
Democratic Labor Party floor leader Kang Ki-kab Tuesday also called for sending an envoy to the North to resolve the stalemate in Seoul-Pyongyang relations.