Rival parties are split on possible candidates for President Moon Jae-in's special envoy to North Korea.

The ruling Democratic Party on Saturday stressed the need for the envoy dispatch and urged bipartisan cooperation from the opposition.

The party's spokeswoman Kim Hyun said that sending an envoy to the North will advance inter-Korean relations, have a positive effect on the improvement of North Korea-U.S. ties and create opportunities for denuclearization.

However, the main opposition Liberty Korea Party said dialogue with the North is meaningless without the premise of denuclearization.

The LKP said that National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon and Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon who are being mentioned as likely candidates are unfit to serve as envoy. 

Party spokeswoman Jun Hee-kyung said it is deplorable that Suh is even considered. She criticized the NIS chief for allegedly turning the spy agency into a "North Korea cooperation organization."

The spokeswoman said the goal of holding any talks with the North should be nuclear dismantlement and denuclearization but the NIS director is not the person to deliver this message.