The main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) has strongly protested President Roh Moo-hyun’s remarks on the Northern Limit Line (NLL).

GNP Spokeswoman Na Kyung-won said Chairman Kang Jae-sup was shocked when the president said during a luncheon with party chiefs Thursday that it was misleading to call the NLL a territorial border.

Na said in a statement that Mr. Roh is the one misleading the public with what she called his "wrong perception of reality" on inter-Korean relations.

The National Assembly’s Defense Committee also denounced the president's remarks, noting that the South Korean Navy has observed the NLL as a territorial border for decades.