Leaders of rival parties agree to hold 2nd official talks

Han Dong-hoon, right, leader of the ruling People Power Party, speaks to Lee Jae-myung, chief of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, after their first official talks at the National Assembly in Seoul, Sept. 1. Yonhap

The leaders of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) agreed Monday to hold another round of official talks following their first meeting last month, a PPP official said.

PPP leader Han Dong-hoon "gladly accepted" DPK Chairman Lee Jae-myung's proposal to meet and discuss livelihood issues, according to PPP Rep. Park Jeong-ha.

The two sides plan to arrange the specific date of the meeting in the future, he said.

The PPP's announcement comes just three hours after Lee proposed a meeting with Han during a Supreme Council meeting, by wishing him success in his scheduled meeting with President Yoon Suk Yeol and saying that he also "looks forward" to holding talks with him.

If held as agreed, it would mark their first talks since last week's by-elections, in which the PPP won two out of the four seats up for grabs.

In early September, the two held their first official talks as leaders of the rival parties and agreed to cooperate on livelihood issues, though they failed to reach consensus on other thorny matters.

The rival parties have been at odds over a slew of controversies surrounding first lady Kim Keon Hee and contentious bills, such as one mandating a special counsel probe into allegations surrounding the death of a Marine last year. (Yonhap)