Opposition presidential candidate stresses continued aid to N. Korea

Posted on : 2007-08-22 17:43 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST

Lee Myung-bak, the new presidential candidate for South Korea's opposition Grand National Party (GNP), said Wednesday his country should continue to provide humanitarian aid to North Korea but stressed caution in economic cooperation.

South Korea has been providing North Korea with food aid since the mid-1990s and began operating a joint industrial complex in the North Korean border city of Kaesong following a first-ever inter-Korean summit in 2000. Seoul is set to deliver 50,000 tons of rice this week to its impoverished neighbor by land as part of its promised support.

"I think we have to (provide support) within the humanitarian boundary," Lee told a group of reporters at his office in Seoul.

"Basic economic cooperation is difficult to carry out, but humanitarian aid must go on." Lee, a former Seoul mayor and Hyundai business executive, was nominated Monday by the conservative GNP as its candidate to run in the December presidential election. The GNP, which draws large support from voters hawkish toward North Korea, has been mired in internal turmoil over its recent announcement that it would soften its approach to its communist neighbor.

According to the latest media polls, Lee commands the highest public approval rating of nearly 60 percent among all presidential contenders. Liberal hopefuls continue to muster only single-digit ratings, partly owing to the low popularity of President Roh Moo-hyun.

Roh, whose office recently announced it has agreed to a second inter-Korean summit, has been accused of incompetence in its efforts to revive the domestic economy and completely end Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.

Lee added that the inter-Korean summit, initially set for later this month but postponed to October, should not influence the outcome of the South Korean election in December, warning it would create a political uproar otherwise.

"I don't think the inter-Korean summit will affect the presidential election," Lee said. "If so, it will face nationwide resistance."

The GNP has been calling on the government to move the inter-Korean summit to a date after the presidential election on Dec. 19, accusing President Roh Moo-hyun of trying to influence domestic politics with the rare reconciliatory meeting. Roh, by law, is not allowed to run for a second five-year term, but several pro-government contenders have announced their bids.

North Korea cited heavy damages from recent torrential rains as the reason for putting back the summit. According to international relief agencies and the communist country's own assessments, hundreds of people have died while tens of thousands more lost their homes due to the flooding, and Pyongyang, the city that would host the summit, reportedly was greatly damaged by the rains.

North Korea, with its economy severely crippled from mismanagement and isolation, lost about 2 million people in the 1990s because of starvation, and has heavily relied on outside aid since to feed its population of about 22 million.

SEOUL, Aug. 22 (Yonhap News)