Kims Seal Alliance

President Kim Dae-jung held talks Friday with Kim Jong-pil, leader of the United Liberal Democrats, and agreed to maintain the coalition between their two parties until the end of the president's term of office in 2003.

The seven-point agreement released after the meeting included joint nomination during all upcoming elections, economic stability through political stability and cooperation for further improvement in relations with North Korea.

An official in the ruling camp said they also discussed a three way alliance between the ruling Millennium Democratic Party, the United Liberal Democrats and the Democratic People's Party which holds just two seats in the National Assembly. They also reviewed the outcome of the meeting between Kim Jong-pil and former president Kim Young-sam last month, the official added. Analysts said the meeting Friday was held to come up with measures to stabilize the current state of affairs given the changes in circumstances since their last meeting on Jan. 8.

In particular, a ruling party source said an in-depth discussion on consolidating the alliance among the three parties on how to "isolate" Lee Hoi-chang, opposition leader and the strongest contender yet for the next presidential election, took place. The source said the two party leaders agreed that the best strategy is to secure a clear majority in the National Assembly.

Kim Joong-kwon, ruling party chairman, and Kim Chong-ho, chairman-at-large of the United Liberal Democrats, will meet in the near future to discuss the details of joint nominations during by-elections scheduled for April 26.

Analysts are paying close attention to who will become the joint nominee for the mayor of Nonsan, South Chungchong province. The United Liberal Democrats have demanded that the ruling party yield on the nomination. Complicating the matter is the fact that both Kim Jong-pil and Rhee In-je, a senior ruling party member, hail from the province.

by Kim Jin-kook