Bipartisan summit should be held

It is still not clear that a political summit between President Kim Dae-Jung and main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) leader Lee Hoi-Chang will be held as a follow-up to Kim`s visit to the United States. Regrettably, views of the prospects for talks from both Cheong Wa Dae and the GNP are skeptical or completely negative. Cheong Wa Dae said the possibility of such a bipartisan summit was still uncertain or has yet to be decided. On the other hand, the opposition GNP said that under the present circumstances, it was difficult for the two leaders to hold a meeting.

Of course, one-on-one talks between the rival party leaders are essential. But if a meeting between the two is unlikely to produce tangible results, as was the case in their Cheong Wa Dae summit early this year, they would be better off not meeting at all. However, it is our position that the partisan leaders will have to hold talks, now that Seoul and Washington showed considerable disparity in their positions on North Korea during the recent summit between Kim and U.S. President George W. Bush.

During their talks, President Bush did not conceal his skepticism about the North Korean regime. And he made clear his objections to Kim`s overture for a ``peace declaration`` on the Korean peninsula. The inter-Korean question is not a simple diplomatic problem that can be addressed through the superficial adjustment of views. The question has a vital importance for Korean society as a whole. Given this fact, President Kim ought to meet with Lee to brief him on the Bush administration`s stance, what progress was made in his talks with the U.S. president and what further steps are planned. The president would be well advised to seek the GNP leader`s cooperation and listen to Lee`s advice, if any is offered.

GNP president Lee already made public his willingness to support supra-partisan cooperation with the ruling camp as far as inter-Korean diplomatic issues are concerned. The two should meet and address the North Korean question before doing anything else. Through their tete-a-tete, the two political leaders can hopefully find ways of easing regional antagonism in the South and resolving their hostile bipartisan relationship. During their summit on Oct. 9 last year, the two agreed to hold talks every two months. They should feel duty-bound to the public to make good on their promise. If the two meet, they need to take up not only the inter-Korean question, but also a wide range of pressing problems such as ever-worsening unemployment, the looming education crisis, the debt-ridden medical insurance system, soaring rents for housing, and problems related to the people`s livelihood.

However, it seems that the ruling camp is determined to forge ahead with an overall political realignment by creating a common front against GNP leader Lee and moving ahead with a controversial maneuver to put up a political leader hailing from the Yongnam (Kyongsang) region as its standard-bearer for the 2002 presidential election. This is to say that the governing camp is preoccupied with ironing out strategies to retain power after the presidential vote. The leaders of the warring parties must meet as soon as possible and work out measures to cope with inter-Korean issues as well as livelihood and other economic and social matters. Partisan strife over who holds the reins of power can certainly wait until after these urgent problems are addressed.