Meeting with the President

[Anchor Lead]

President Park Geun-hye met with the leaders of three major political parties yesterday at Cheong Wa Dae. She asked the party chiefs for non-partisan cooperation, but they differed widely on security and economic solutions.

[Pkg]

The cordial greeting between President Park Geun-hye and the leaders of the three major political parties did not last long.

[Soundbite] Park Geun-hye(President) : "I hope this meeting is about our alertness toward N. Korea and our strong united resolve."

[Soundbite] Choo Mi-ae(Chairwoman, The Minjoo Party) : "I hope this meeting will turn out to be a great Chuseok gift by providing a solution to people's financial problems."

In the ensuing closed meeting President Park said that the Korean Peninsula is facing the risk of war and North Korea's nuclear program is not for negotiation purposes, but a pressing threat. As for the terminal high-altitude area defense system, she said that the battery with proven military usefulness is needed in order to protect people from North Korean provocations. When criticized for using security issues to further domestic political agendas, the president asked whether the international community was also exploiting the security issues. To the claim that THAAD caused Pyongyang to conduct a nuclear test, she pointed out that the first four nuclear tests were held when THAAD wasn't even an issue. The pro-administration Saenuri Party assessed yesterday's meeting as a meaningful encounter, while the main opposition Minjoo Party criticized that President Park had some problems with her awareness of peoples' financial difficulties. Meanwhile, the alternative opposition People's Party said firm security discipline should be established first within the government.