Political parties clash over NLL, spy agency scandal

Ruling and opposition parties have locked horns over allegations that late President Roh Moo-hyun may have disavowed South Korea's sea border with North Korea and suspicions that the country's spy agency interfered in last year's presidential race, which have cast shadows over the National Assembly's stated goal of looking after the welfare of the people and pushing for reforms, political observers said Sunday.

Originally the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) had been pushing to pass bills in June's extra session of parliament to ban lawmakers from holding separate jobs and reform their pension system, as well as make headway on economic democratization that can curb the power of the country's conglomerates.

"At present the two sides are maintaining the hard-line stance and showing no signs of making concessions that will certainly hold up parliamentary proceedings," a political observer said.