Ruling and Opposition Parties` Position on Rice Aid

The Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) held a supreme council meeting yesterday, and came up to an agreement that ``despite the North`s postponement of the family exchange program, it is not appropriate to connect this issue directly to the rice aid.``

Kang Hyun-Wook, chairperson of the policy making committee, said, ``We should carefully consider this matter by finding out why the North postponed the family exchange program. Any hasty judgment should be avoided.``

The MDP made such a decision with the proviso that ``the amount and the method of rice aid should be agreed by the ruling and the opposition parties, and should be discussed in the South-North talk. We will comprehensively consider this issue.``

However, Kwon Chul-Hyun, spokesperson of the Grand National Party (GNP), expressed the position that this issue should be reconsidered from the beginning, saying that ``rice aid to the North is based on the premise of the normal South-North relation.``

Kim Man-Jae, chairperson of the policy making committee, also said that ``the rice aid was not promoted apart from the North`s appropriate measures and issues regarding the establishment of the meeting place for the separated families. The rice aid seems to be difficult due to the North`s postponement of the family exchange program.``

The government and the MDP plan to decide whether the government will continue the rice aid as it was planned after analyzing the background of the North`s postponement of the family exchange program at the `party-government meeting in relation to the rice aid to North Korea` and examining the public opinion.

Yoon Jong-Koo jkmas@donga.com