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President Kim Dae-jung yesterday issued a warning against parliamentary candidates' possible attempts to take advantage of regional animosities to snatch victories in the April general elections.

During a speech to mark the 81st anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement at the Sejong Cultural Center, the Chief Executive said,``Be they candidates from ruling or opposition parties, they should never be allowed to engage in such sinister acts. Those who fan regional animosity must be ostracized as traitors.''

Kim lamented that there still are some people who try to ``divide the people of the southern half of the Korean peninsula for selfish purposes, even at a time when South and North Korea must be reconciled in this age of globalization.''

``Such evil practices were rarely seen during the Liberal Party and Democratic Party administrations of the 1950s and 1960s. Some southwestern Cholla people were elected to the National Assembly from the southeastern Kyongsang provinces and some Kyongsang natives were elected in the Cholla provinces,'' Kim explained.

Kim continued, ``Official records clearly show that we used to choose the best candidates regardless of where they were from. This situation took a turn for the worse under the military government that took over on May 16, 1961.''

Kim said the democratization of Korea is not yet complete despite considerable achievements in furthering democracy, human rights, rights of women, freedom of press, labor movements and political neutrality of the military, police and public officials.

On domestic politics, Kim said, ``More than anything else, we regret that confusion in politics has been an obstacle to the implementation of national policy. The politics must be stabilized and only then can there be future reform for the country. If we stop this reform movement, our nation will become a third-class country.''

Kim cautioned against the people's complacency about the recent economic upswing, saying ``We cannot rest on our laurels. We have barely overcome the foreign currency crisis. To adapt to the age of limitless competition and a new set of economic conditions in the 21st century, we must make revolutionary changes.''

He declared that his administration will pursue cooperation and reconciliation with North Korea while maintaining water-tight security preparedness. ``It is my ultimate objective, and yours too, to put an end to the tension that lingers over the Korean peninsula and the last vestige of the Cold War era through the sunshine policy,'' he said.