2 Kims to Meet and Sort Out Details of Ruling Coalition

President Kim Dae-jung will meet Friday with Kim Jong-pil, leader of the United Liberal Democrats, for the second time since the two parties reconsolidated their coalition on Jan. 8, the Blue House said Monday.

The two will discuss pending issues?ossible joint strategy for the 2002 presidential elections, the parliamentary probe into the ongoing tax audit of media companies and the need to rally public opinion before North Korean leader Kim Jong-il visits Seoul.

Presidential aides said Kim Jong-pil will brief the president on the extensive meetings he has held recently with leaders from across the political spectrum.

He met with Kim Yoon-whan, leader of the Democratic People's Party, to discuss a possible political merger to gain the necessary 137 seats for a majority in Parliament; the Democratic People's Party holds just two seats. Kim Jong-pil also attended former President Kim Young-sam's calligraphy exhibition.

By casting a wide political net, he is fueling speculation that the ruling camp is attempting to build an anti-Lee Hoi-chang bloc going into next year's elections.

The two Kims are also expected to fine-tune opinions on North Korea before the president's visit to Washington March 6-11.

One aide said the president is also counting on Kim Jong-pil, who carries a lot of weight with conservative voters, to ease concerns among conservative voices that oppose the North Korean leader's visit.

The two are also expected to discuss a cabinet reshuffle. Presidential aides now forecast that there will be no shakeup as a sagging economy, the coming Seoul-Washington summit meeting and the North Korean leader's visit pose a need to retain stability in the administration.

However, they did not rule out a small-scale change to boost the coalition partner or partners, should the Democratic People's Party join in.

by Kim Jin-kook