Joint Effort Is Pledged By Bipartisan Leaders To Back U.S. Campaign

President Kim Dae-jung and the opposition leader, Lee Hoi-chang, president of the Grand National Party, agreed Tuesday to leave partisanship aside and fully support the U.S. war against terrorism. The two leaders also agreed to activate the joint "policy consultation council," to oversee specific follow-up measures to support the United States.

The two leaders came out of the meeting with a five-point statement of support for the U.S.-led war against terrorism. There was no mention of committing combat troops.

Mr. Kim and Mr. Lee, acknowledging that war against terror would aggravate the world economy and inevitably affect the domestic economy, said they would work together to stimulate the Korean economy.

The government said Monday it would propose a 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion) second supplementary budget package, to be used mainly to stimulate infrastructure projects. It is likely to pass the National Assembly. Yim Tae-hee, an economic policymaker of the Grand National Party, said that the party would positively consider passing the second supplement. The opposition had been skeptical of the need for further spending. The first supplementary budget of 5 trillion won was passed in September.

The Blue House spokesman, Oh Hong-keun, and the opposition spokesman, Kwon Chul-hyun, both said that the first meeting in nine months between the two leaders was amicable, and that the two leaders kept political differences under the rug.

Both sides had stressed that the two leaders were meeting this time expressly to discuss government measures to support the U.S. war against terrorism. An official at the Blue House said, "The president kept the agenda limited, fearing that the talks might turn awkward if the opposition leader came out strongly for a government reorganization."

An opposition party official said Mr. Lee also refrained from touching on domestic political issues, lest he give the impression that the opposition was backing down from its calls for a thorough probe into the financial scandal involving Lee Yong-ho, president of G&G Group, and high-ranking officials.

The Five-Point Agreement

1. The ruling and opposition parties, acknowledging that the terrorist attack on the United States is a serious challenge to peace-loving humanity, support the war against terrorism being led by the United States.

2. The ruling and opposition parties, working with a view to consolidating the traditional alliance with the United States that upholds security on the Korean Peninsula, will not hold back cooperation and the support needed for the United States in accordance with the mutual defense treaty.

3. The ruling and opposition parties will give all support and make every effort to ensure the safety of Korean officials, expatriate Koreans living in the hit area or in neighboring countries.

4. The ruling and opposition parties, acknowledging that the war against terrorism will aggravate world economy and inevitably the domestic economy, will make efforts to resuscitate the economy so that people can feel safe as they carry on with their livelihoods.

5. The ruling and opposition parties will activate the "joint policy consultation council," already in place, to carry out bipartisan cooperative measures.

by Kim Jin-kook