S. Korea admits it held secret talks with N. Korea

(ATTN: UPDATES with comments from ruling and opposition lawmakers in last 8 paras)
SEOUL, June 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea admitted Thursday it held secret talks with North Korea last month, but denied the purpose was to arrange summit meetings between the sides, rebuffing Pyongyang's claims it was "begged" to accept the plan.
Unification Minister Hyun In-taek, Seoul's point man on North Korea, was responding to lawmakers' questions at the National Assembly in Seoul one day after the North's powerful National Defense Commission revealed what it said was discussed at secret meetings with the South from May 9.
The commission, headed by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, said in a commentary carried by the country's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) that Seoul proposed holding three summit meetings between late June and March next year. It also claimed Seoul suggested holding Cabinet-level talks in late May to lay the groundwork for the summit talks.
"North Korea says our government made secret contact for the purpose of arranging summit meetings, but that's putting the cart before the horse," Hyun said.
"Our position is that inter-Korean relations can move forward only if North Korea takes responsibility for, apologizes for, and promises never to repeat such actions as the sinking of the Cheonan and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island. Only then will we be able to have dialogue, and these were (the responses) we were aiming for at the secret meetings."
Inter-Korean relations have been tense since the South Korean warship Cheonan went down in March last year in a torpedo attack blamed on the North. In November, North Korea bombarded the South Korean border island of Yeonpyeong, bringing the total death toll from the two attacks to 50.
The minister flatly denied allegations that South Korea's Lee Myung-bak administration was seeking a breakthrough ahead of next year's general and presidential elections.
"We do not make secret contact with North Korea with political motivations or purposes," he said, adding that the North's disclosure violates the basics of inter-Korean relations.
Rep. Chung Ui-hwa, who heads an emergency committee of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP), denounced the North for disclosing the confidential contact and distorting what was discussed at the meetings, saying the move amounts to tearing down trust between the two sides.
"It was right for the government to decide not to respond in detail to North Korea's claims," Chung said. "There should be no rebuking of the government without verifying North Korea's announcement."
Rep. Sohn Hak-kyu of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) accused the government of hypocrisy over the secret contact, though he said it was the right decision to seek summit talks with the North to promote reconciliation on the divided peninsula.
"A leader should not engage in double-faced politics for political reasons," Sohn said at a meeting with party lawmakers. "It was clearly wrong to attempt to cut a deal by giving an envelop of money behind the scenes while talking big in front of the people on the surface."
But he patted the government on the back for trying to seek summit talks with Pyongyang, saying the two sides should pursue reconciliation and greater exchanges through dialogue. Sohn also urged the North to "open up its hearts" and agree to summit meetings.
Rep. Chung Dong-young of the DP criticized Pyongyang for divulging what was discussed during the secret contact in violation of diplomatic protocol to keep such discussions confidential.
"It was obviously wrong for North Korea to disclose the secret contract. It was unprecedented in the history of the South-North relations," Chung said. "The government should account for the part that it begged the North for an apology ... and should not seek summit talks as a (political) event."
The two countries remain technically in a state of war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. They held two rounds of summit talks -- first in 2000 and second in 2007 -- before their ties frayed badly after President Lee took office in early 2008 with a policy to link aid to progress in ending the North's nuclear ambitions.
hague@yna.co.kr