Political strife escalated on Tuesday after the National Intelligence Service revealed the transcripts of the 2007 inter-Korean summit with the main opposition Democratic Party demanding the spy chief resign.

On Monday, the NIS disclosed the transcript of the 2007 summit to members of the parliamentary Intelligence Committee in an unexpected move against accusations that it tampered with the records.

The transcript, in which former President Roh Moo-hyun is accused of having denied the validity of the Northern Limit Line in the West Sea, was received by Saenuri Party lawmakers, but the DP rejected the documents citing legal issues. Although the transcripts showed that Roh used ambiguous expressions regarding the NLL, passages that South Korea would not make claims regarding the NLL were not found in the records as claimed by Saenuri Party lawmakers.

“The NIS has lost its reason for existence. (NIS) has completely lost sight of itself as the country’s intelligence agency, and let go of national interests and prestige and even the smallest amount of common sense in order to hide their illegal actions,” DP chairman Rep. Kim Han-gil said at the emergency conference on Tuesday.

“The NIS committed another act to damage the country’s integrity and has embarked on the path to destruction.”

The main opposition did however reach an agreement with the ruling Saenuri Party to open an parliamentary investigation into the NIS over the alleged election interference carried out in the run up to the Dec. 19 presidential election.

DP floor leader Rep, Jun Byung-hun said that the two parties agreed to conduct the parliamentary probe, and that the request for the investigation would be submitted on Wednesday. The request will be processed at the plenary session on July 2.

As the situation unfolds, the DP has called for Reps. Chung Moon-hun and Suh Sang-kee of the Saenuri Party to resign, citing their promises to put their jobs on the line over the authenticity of their claims.

Chung and Suh have been at the center of the issue, with Chung first claiming that Roh made the so-called NLL-statement.

The opposition’s attack on the government has also spilled over to the Internet.

Former DP chairman Rep. Chung Sye-kyun accused those responsible of “ruining democracy” through his Twitter account, while Rep. Park Young-sun blamed Cheong Wa Dae for the development, saying that it was only possible “either due to Cheong Wa Dae’s incompetence or with its connivance.”

Rep. Park Jie-won, former DP floor leader and close aide of Roh, accused the presidential offices of having prior knowledge of the NIS’ decision.

“I spent five years in Cheong Wa Dae, but such important actions of the NIS are not carried out without reporting to Cheong Wa Dae,” Park said.

He added that the NIS’ decision to open the records was “very wrong” and that the spy agency should not act in such a political fashion.

“If it concerns the conversation between the president and North Korea’s chairman of the defense committee then it is presidential record regardless of where it was produced. So, it is level one secret,” he said.

President Park Geun-hye, for her part, has not mentioned the developments directly, but reiterated the importance of the NLL.

“It must not be forgotten that the NLL is something numerous young people have protected with their blood and lives,” Park said at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting.

Park’s words were also echoed by the Ministry of National Defense.

“The NLL is the de facto maritime demarcation line we must uphold with force,” Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said Tuesday.

“Our fundamental position is that unless peace is fully established between the South and the North maintaining the NLL cannot be avoided.”

Regarding the NIS’ decision to disclose the records of the summit, Kim Min-seok said that secrets classified below level one can be reclassified and that the Defense Ministry has implemented similar measures in the past.

By Choi He-suk  (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)