S Korean candidate sparks political storm

The leader of South Korea's main opposition party, Lee Hoi-Chang, has sparked a political storm by calling the government of President Kim Dae-Jung "pro-leftist".

Mr Lee made this comment while announcing he was standing for his Grand National Party's nomination for this year's presidential election.

He accused Mr Kim of pushing South Korea into a mire of corruption and making a series of bad political appointments.

Mr Kim's Millennium Democratic Party said Mr Lee had what it called a Cold War mentality.

The BBC correspondent in Seoul says the Grand National Party has been highly critical of Mr Kim's policy of dialogue with North Korea.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service