Splinter party leader denounces Kim for Nobel prize

Chang Ki-Pyo, a supreme council member of the splinter Democratic People's Party, criticized President Kim Dae-Jung in connection with his winning the Nobel Peace Prize on his Internet home page Monday.

After congratulating Kim for receiving the accolade, he asserted that Kim should devote himself to domestic politics, free from the glory of the Nobel award.

Chang also called on Kim not to ignore critical views of his administrative failures on the ground that he won the prestigious prize. He demanded that the President present a blueprint for inter-Korean problems and economic policies in order to remedy basic social complications.

The DPP leader continued to assert that Kim had given too much to North Korea in a scheme to win the Nobel prize. If he fails to address the nation's economic plight, Kim's prize means nothing, he contended. Chang pressed for Kim to admit to his economic failures and initiate policy steps for an economic revival.