Parties clash over Roh’s NK policy

DUP says accusations against late Roh groundless

By Lee Tae-hoon

The ruling Saenuri Party Wednesday ramped up its attack against the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) over an allegation that the latter failed to protect national interests during an inter-Korean summit in 2007.

Rep. Lee Hahn-koo, floor leader of the governing party, called on the DUP to give the green light to his party’s push for a parliamentary investigation into the former liberal Roh Moo-hyun government’s alleged abuse of authority in favor of the North.

“I urge the DUP to join us for a parliamentary probe into North Koreagate,” the four-term lawmaker said.

He stressed that the late Roh is suspected of having discussed giving away up to 100 trillion won ($88.7 billion) worth of aid to the North and withdrawing the Northern Limit Line defining it as a line “unilaterally drawn by the U.S. that wanted to occupy more territory.”

The move came following an allegation from Saenuri Party lawmaker Chung Moon-hun’s Monday that late President Roh Moo-hyun agreed with North Korea to nullify the U.S.-drawn NLL during his landmark inter-Korean summit in 2007.

“During the Oct. 3 summit in 2007, the late former President Roh Moo-hyun held one-on-one talks with late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il,” he said in a parliamentary audit of the Unification Ministry.

“Minutes of the undisclosed dialogue show Roh telling Kim Jong-il that the NLL is a headache. It was unilaterally drawn by the U.S. trying to win more territory.”

The DUP, however, rejected the Saenuri’s call for a parliamentary probe, saying the move is a political ploy based on outright fabrication of the truth.

“The Saenuri Party’s demand for a probe is not even worth a second thought because it is a political smear campaign ahead of the presidential election,” DUP spokesman Park Yong-jin said.

“We will make sure the conservative party takes responsibility for its baseless accusations.”

Lee Jae-joung, who accompanied Roh as unification minister during the 2007 inter-Korean summit, also denied the possibility of Roh having a private meeting on Oct. 3 with late North Korean leader Kim.

“There are no secret minutes of a dialogue,” he said.

He underlined that Roh and Kim were having a formal meeting at 3 p.m. on Oct. 3 at which the Saenuri Party alleges the secret one-on-one meeting took place between the two leaders.

The Saenuri argues that Roh verbally promised to Kim that the South would no longer respect the controversial sea border and received a transcript of the two’s dialogue from the North.

Lee argued that there was no discussion made about possible nullification of the NLL during the summit talks and Roh also believed that the sea border should continue to serve as the South’s maritime boundary line.