President Lee Myung-bak says that it is the policy of the current government to really help North Korea, and that simply providing rice and fertilizer will not solve problems facing the North.

Lee made the remark at an inaugural meeting of a presidential advisory council on Thursday, saying that “short-term prescriptions” will not help improve inter-Korean relations.

He said that he feels the need to engage in dialogue with the North on equal terms where the two countries can respect each other.

Former parliamentary speaker Lee Man-sup who attended the meeting cautioned the government against dismissing a recent series of hard-line actions by North Korea that has raised tensions on the Korean Peninsula as merely an attempt to gain an upperhand in negotiations with the U.S.

Another former parliamentary speaker, Kim Won-ki, said that inter-Korean relations are in a transition period, and that should relations further deteriorate, it could deal a blow to the economy.

Former Prime Minister Lee Hong-koo requested the president to exhibit leadership that could drastically improve relations between the two countries.