Two of the Democratic Party’s heavyweight lawmakers clashed today over the terms of party policy on North Korea during a meeting of the party’s leading council.
Problems arose after former presidential hopeful and sitting DP executive committee member Chung Dong Young was critical of recent comments made by DP President Sohn Hak Kyu during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan. At the time, Sohn said that a DP government would employ an “engagement policy with rules,” however today Chung criticized Sohn’s words for “running counter to the party line” and potentially suggesting that former policy had no rules at all.
Chung went on, “While presenting our party’s position, Chairman Sohn was misleading. He met Prime Minster Kan and said we would respond sternly on North Korean human rights, nuclear weapons and missiles, while also operating an ‘engagement policy with rules’. However, this could give the mistaken impression that the intent of the ‘Sunshine Policy’ advanced by Democratic Party governments has been modified.”
In addition, he went on, “A ‘North Korea policy with rules’ is the wording of former GNP President Park Geun Hye, and given that it could lead people to ask whether our Sunshine Policy of engagement was an ‘engagement policy without rules’, as party chairman there is the need for him to explain and to straighten out any misleading points.”
On this, however, Sohn responded, “An ‘engagement policy with principles’ is a policy that promotes opening, while an ‘engagement policy without principles’ could invite the misunderstanding that we are pro-North Korea (or pro-Kim Jong Il regime) progressives,” adding that his meaning was “something that does not support or agree with the North’s succession or nuclear developments in any way.”
“The Democratic Party will firmly follow the path of mutual prosperity and Korean Peninsula peace via a principled policy of engagement, while opposing any policy which obstructs reform and opening or threatens peace,” he then attempted to clarify.
On this, Chung responded with displeasure, “’Pro-North Korea progressive’ is a really unfortunate choice of words,” but Sohn moved to draw the clash to a close, saying, “Let’s deal with this next time.”
