Prime Minister-nominee Kim Tae-ho said Wednesday that he is opposed to the resumption of rice aid to North Korea, unless the North apologizes for its deadly attack on the South Korean warship Cheonan in March.
"I agreed to humanitarian aid for North Korea. But the matter should be separately considered from rising rice stockpiles in (the South)," Kim said at his parliamentary confirmation hearing.
"The ongoing deadlock in inter-Korean relations has been triggered by North Korea. Our 46 sons were killed in the sinking of the Cheonan. The North must offer the least apology for the Cheonan incident or change its attitude (before the resumption of rice aid)," he said.
Kim then stressed that an inter-Korean policy designed to induce any attitude change in the North would be helpful to long-term peace on the
peninsula.
Kim's remarks came amid a growing debate within the Lee Myung-bak government over whether to restart rice shipments to the communist North,
which faces a worsening food crisis particularly in the wake of recent severe floods.
South Korea previously sent 300,000-400,000 tons of rice to its hunger-stricken neighbor annually, but has not made any delivery since
President Lee took office in early 2008.
On the last day of his two-day confirmation hearing, Kim again denied all opposition-raised allegations of bribery and other misconduct linked to his two-term governorship in the southern province of South Gyeongsang.
The 47-year-old Kim, who served as governor of South Gyeongsang Province from 2004 until early this year, was nominated by President Lee in the Aug. 8 Cabinet reshuffle to replace Chung Un-chan as prime minister.
Despite allegations of corruption raised by opposition lawmakers, the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) appears to have concluded that Kim is
qualified for the top Cabinet post, according to party officials.
"It is hard to say Kim is perfect and flawless," Rep. Chung Ok-im of the GNP said in a radio interview. "But no decisive or fatal flaw has been found in his qualification."
Opposition lawmakers led by the main opposition Democratic Party, however, said they will ask prosecutors to investigate Kim for violating the bank law to raise illicit political funds ahead of his gubernatorial elections in 2006.