By Lee Tae-hoon
Staff reporter
A top official of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) Thursday urged the government to resume dialogue with North Korea, saying it should take a two-track approach in dealing with the communist regime.
In his speech at the National Assembly, DP floor leader Park Jie-won said that the administration should continue to make efforts to make North Korea return to the six-party talks, despite the sinking of the Navy ship Cheonan.
The South Korean frigate Cheonan was sunk by the North's torpedo attack in late March near the maritime boarder in the West Sea, claiming the lives of 46 crew members.
"Dismantling North Korea's nuclear programs is a global issue," Park said.
Park, a former close aide of the late former President Kim Dae-jung, claimed that it is not appropriate to resolve the Choenan incident as a precondition of resuming the six-party talks on the nuclear issue.
He also noted that only talks will bring out peace and reconciliation between the two Koreas.
"I urge continued dialogue with North Korea. Dialogue even exists in the battleground," Park said.
Park also urged North Korea to abstain from any provocative behavior that might incite a war and threaten peace on the Korean Peninsula, adding that the communist state has an obligation to prove its innocence in the sinking of the warship.
"If North Korea wants to insist it was not involved in the Cheonan incident, it is obliged to prove it. Otherwise, the North should halt all provocative remarks and behavior that threatens peace on the Korean Peninsula and the safety of the (South) Korean people," Park said.
The floor leader said President Lee Myung-bak, who has been taking a hard-line policy toward Pyongyang, should take action to break the deadlock in North-South relations and normalize various inter-Korean cooperation projects.
"I suggest that the President have the third inter-Korean summit talks in the near future," Park said.
Park also urged the President to scrap controversial projects and carry out a comprehensive Cabinet reshuffle.
"Through the June 2 local elections, people urged the government to change the keynote of its plans," Park said, referring to the four-river project and Sejong City plan.
The DP won seven of the 16 mayoral and gubernatorial races, while the GNP won six.
He criticized the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) for pushing a constitutional revision, instead of a comprehensive reshuffle in the administration and the presidential office.
Park said that his party will do its best to scrap the four-river restoration program unless the Lee administration decides to downsize the multi-billion construction project.
However, President Lee has been reportedly firm on the project to clean and refurbish the country's four major rivers across the country, which the opposition claims that will destroy the environment.
Park also vowed that his party will oppose a revised plan to build a more business friendly town in Sejong, instead of relocating nine government ministries and four agencies to the new city.