President Lee Myung-bak will meet with leaders of the conservative minor Liberty Forward Party this week to seek cooperation in handling the aftermath of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s death, an aide said Monday

The meeting with LFP leader Sim Dae-pyung and floor leader Kim Nak-sung, set for Tuesday, comes days after Lee held a similar meeting with the ruling Grand National Party and the main opposition Democratic Unity Party last week.

“President Lee will have a tea meeting with LFP chairman Sim and floor leader Kim tomorrow to brief them on the situation related to the death of Chairman Kim and ask for cooperation,” a presidential official said, referring to the North’s leader by his official title, the chairman of the National Defense Commission.

In last week’s meeting, Lee told the leaders of the major parties that South Korea was trying to show North Korea it is not hostile toward the communist nation, spurring speculation that Seoul would seek softer lines on Pyongyang. 

(Yonhap News)