By Lee Tae-hoon

The main opposition party Tuesday urged the government to hold an inter-Korean summit at the earliest date possible to end Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.

In a parliamentary speech, Park Jie-won, floor leader of the Democratic Party (DP), said President Lee Myung-bak should meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-il while the latter firmly holds the reigns of the Workers' Party, the military and the general public.

Park claimed that Kim's tight grip of the Stalinist regime makes him a capable negotiation partner.

Kim, 69, had a stroke in 2008 and is reportedly suffering from diabetes and kidney problems.

"If North Korea succeeds in making smaller and lighter nuclear weapons, there will be a global catastrophe," the DP legislator said. "Time is running out."

He argued that President Lee, whose term in office now has less than 2 years to run, should meet with the North Korean leader to discuss inter-Korean relations and the nuclear issue no later than the end of the year.

"This year is the last chance," Park said, noting that the highest-level talks will only be realized when Seoul responds positively on the North's reconciliatory gestures and its demand for food aid.

The two Koreas held summit meetings in 2000 and 2007, when the DP was the governing party.

Park also called for the resumption of humanitarian assistance to the North, pointing out that the U.N. has called for more than 430,000 tons of food aid to the communist regime to feed 6 million people stricken by floods and severe winter weather.

He argued that provision of rice to Pyongyang will not only help ease food shortages in the North, but also solve the surplus rice problem in the South.

Park strongly opposed the sending of propaganda leaflets criticizing the North's regime across the border toward the Stalinist regime. He said the fliers not only escalate inter-Korean tensions but also hampers the economy of border towns in Gyeonggi and Gangwon Province.

"The government should discourage civilians from sending propaganda leaflets to the North, which do more harm than good," he said.

As for domestic affairs, Park said President Lee must keep his presidential promises, such as the reduction of mobile phone rates by 20 percent, construction of a new airport in the southeastern part of the country and slashing college tuitions by half.

He noted that more than 200 college students take their own lives annually, largely due to financial difficulties they encounter.

According to a survey of collegians by the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, 88.6 percent of the respondents answered that they had experienced financial difficulties and 60 percent had suicidal impulses due to high college tuitions.

He also urged the government to curb inflation and lower gas prices to help low income people.