By Jun Ji-hye
With the mood for talks between the two Koreas ripe, opposition parties called Monday for holding inter-Korean parliamentary talks, although the ruling party was not being so keen on the idea.
Rep. Oh Byung-yun, floor leader of the minor opposition Unified Progressive Party, said during a speech at a plenary session of the National Assembly, “The Assembly needs to play an active role in improving inter-Korean relations. I propose South Korea’s parliament hold talks with the North’s Supreme People's Assembly.”
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) has also endorsed the suggestion.
During a meeting with Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae, Rep. Jun Byung-hun, the DP floor leader, said: “Mutual exchanges of opinions between the two parliaments would become a new aspect in the development of inter-Korean relations.”
Chung Dong-young, a DP heavyweight who previously served as unification minister under the late liberal President Roh Moo-hyun, supported this saying, “The government is of course in charge of managing the upcoming official meeting between Seoul and Pyongyang. But there is surely something in which the DP can play a role. Pushing ahead with South-North parliamentary talks could be one thing.”
Rep. Hong Ihk-pyo, a DP spokesman, said floor leaders from all parties will have to embrace progressive positions regarding such talks, while another spokesman Park Yong-jin called for the issue to be included in issues to be discussed in the upcoming ministerial meeting.
The ruling party in principle sees the need for such talks, but maintains that now is not the best time.
“If the South-North dialogue scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday is successfully held, exchange between the two Koreas could become possible,” said Rep. Choi Kyung-hwan, floor leader of the Saenuri Party, in a Supreme Council meeting.
But he added, “Making a hasty decision or dealing with too many issues can cause side effects. It is more important to handle matters step by step in order to restore trust between the two Koreas and establish peace on the peninsula.”
A number of ruling party members sided with their party’s position that holding these talks is premature.
“Things can only work at the right time. It is very premature to bring up the issue of parliamentary-led inter-Korean talks at this stage,” said Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun, Saenuri’s vice floor leader.
All previous attempts at having the Assemblies of the two sides engage in talks have gone nowhere.
Since 1985 when the isolated state first proposed such talks, authorities from both sides met 10 times up until 1990, but no agreements made materialized.
In February 2011, the North’s Supreme People's Assembly officially made an offer in a letter to South Korea's National Assembly, but this was rejected due to differences between parties here, as well as the general lack of response by the then administration.