President-elect Lee Myung-bak's transition team and rival parties on Friday reached a tentative agreement to retain the Unification Ministry in the lineup of Lee's incoming government, spokespersons for the team and parties said.
The fate of the Unification Ministry, which is in charge of inter-Korean relations, has been at the center of a political confrontation, with Lee determined to close it and four other ministries under his government reorganization bills submitted to the National Assembly last month.