Newspapers in South Korea say President Kim Dae-jung's admission that his government condoned an illegal $200m payment to North Korea ahead of the two countries' historic summit in June 2000 raises many questions that must be answered.

They echo opposition calls for the naming of a special prosecutor to investigate the affair.

Several papers agree the president's admission is inadequate.

Regrettably, President Kim's apology lacks truth Tong-a Ilbo

"A perfunctory explanation" is how South Korea's second-largest daily Chungang Ilbo describes it.

The moderate Tong-a Ilbo daily, too, finds the apology less than persuasive.

"Regrettably, President Kim's apology lacks truth, and therefore we can only say that it was greatly insufficient to persuade the general public."

The paper casts doubt over the true nature of the North-South summit "touted by the Kim Dae-jung government as its biggest achievement so far" and wonders if the summit was "just a by-product of Hyundai projects".

Cover up

South Korea's oldest daily, Choson Ilbo goes further and accuses the president of being evasive and trying to cover up the issue.

"We cannot turn a blind eye to 'secret payments to North Korea'," reads its headline. "This cannot and should not be covered up," the daily warns.

"It is clear that if we do not correct the distorted practices of North-South relations now", it adds, "this will damage our national interests forever."

"The president and his aides merely advanced the argument on national interests after reversing their previous position that the payments were an 'act of governing'," Tong-a Ilbo says.

"This feeds the suspicion that they are covering up something bigger," it adds.

Transparency

The centre-left Hangyore daily, usually sympathetic towards North Korea, agrees the stakes are high.

It says that "at a time of heightened tensions" on the Korean peninsula "all of us must ponder over how we can make a choice that we would not regret in the future for national interests."

"This process must not be sought to seek each party's interests or damage the sunshine policy," it adds.

Transparency in North-South relations is essential for genuine cooperation and peaceful coexistence Tong-a Ilbo

"The goal of the efforts to find the truth must be to find wrongdoings and take them as a lesson and, thus, develop North-South relations in transparent and just processes," it concludes.

This view is shared by Tong-a Ilbo.

"Transparency in North-South relations is essential for genuine cooperation and peaceful coexistence," it says.

Independent inquiry

The papers press for further investigation.

Tong-a Ilbo urges both the ruling and opposition parties to cooperate in an independent inquiry.

"If the ruling circles stick to 'the unilateral argument for national interests' there is no alternative other than to opt for the independent counsel system," it says.

"A special prosecutor system is the only way to find the truth," Chungang Ilbo agrees.

Hangyore concedes that "President Kim tried to answer the people's questions" but adds that many questions still remain unanswered.

The paper believes more evidence from presidential aides is needed to establish the whole truth behind the affair.

"If this is all the truth, we wonder why they insisted they could not reveal the truth while citing national interests and the special aspects of North-South relations."

"The ball is now in the court of political circles, and it is truly necessary for the people to make a prudent judgment," it concludes.

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.