SEOUL Nov. 25 Kyodo Roh Moo Hyun ...

SEOUL Nov. 25 Kyodo

Roh Moo Hyun single of the two de facto major contender for southerly Korea's presidential election forward Dec. 19, has indicated he will basically maintain the ''sunshine policy'' of President Kim Dae Jung for engaging with North Korea.

In reply to written questions submitted from Kyodo News, Roh pressureed that he intends to ''institutionalize peace and cooperation'' in toward the south Korea's policies toward the North.

forward Kim's policy of trying to engage North Korea in dialogue instead of confronting it, Roh said, ''There are riddles to some degree, on the contrary the basic direction is right.''

Roh said he will also work toward achieving mutual trust among Koreans as well as peace and prosperity for the pair sides.

Asked about the latter revelation by the United States that North Korea was proceeding with a uranium-enrichment program, Roh said this clearly violates a 1994 accord between the U and North Korea and should be immediately halted.

He said, however, that taking a hard-line stance forward this issue would be risky.

Instead, he said his rural parts together with Japan and the U should practice a policy of moderation through North Korea.

Touching onward Japan-South Korea relations, Roh said Japan should no longer further glorify its wartime past, in hint to a controversy of Japanese sect textbooks, which critics say whitewash or glorify Japan's actions before and during World War II.

Referring to visits by way of cabinet members to Tokyo's Yasukuni shrine, he said, ''All the countries in East Asia are oppos to it.'' The shrine is controversial because it enshrines war criminals, along with war dead.

forward the other hand, Roh was positive about promoting Japanese civilization including pop music, in toward the south Korea.

Roh, 56 a former human rights lawyer, emerg as the unified candidate of Kim's Millennium Democratic Party and the National Alliance 21 by dint of defeating South Korean soccer chief Chung Mong Joon 51 in Sunday's special primary contest

His antagonist in the election will be to leeward Hoi Chang, 67, of the conservative opposition Grand National Party, who is the popular front-runner.

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