President Park Geun-hye is to meet with the chairmen and floor leaders of the ruling Saenuri Party and main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy on Thursday.

The meeting at Cheong Wa Dae was proposed by Park to discuss her trip to the United States last week and ask for cooperation from the party leaders in addressing urgent national tasks.

Seven months after Park last met with Saenuri chairman Kim Moo-sung and his NPAD counterpart Moon Jae-in, the meeting comes at an opportune time as the raging controversy over the government’s plan to restore state control over history textbooks has pushed aside discussions on all other pressing issues.

Park and the party leaders need to use the rare meeting as an opportunity to restore political dialogue and narrow differences on pending issues. They should endeavor to meet the public’s high expectations.

At the meeting, Park is expected to press the NPAD leaders to cooperate in getting major bills through the National Assembly.

She wants to get Korea’s free trade agreements with China, Vietnam and New Zealand ratified as early as possible so that Korean exporters can benefit in coping with the worsening global trade environment.

The NPAD leaders need to cooperate in passing the trade bills as they would promote the national interest.

Park is also expected to discuss the five labor reform bills. Last month, representatives of labor, business and the government reached a landmark agreement on labor reform. The accord, however, is useless unless it is spelled out in law. It is up to the political leaders to ensure that this agreement is enacted and implemented as agreed.

Following up on the agreement, the government submitted five bills to the National Assembly. But the bills also contain some additional proposals. Today’s Cheong Wa Dae meeting provides a chance for the leaders to iron out their differences on the matter.

Another important bill is the 2016 budget bill. It has been customary for lawmakers of the two parties to spend most of the parliamentary session bickering on political issues and pass the budget bill hurriedly past the legal deadline.

This year, the party leaders should ensure that their lawmakers do not repeat this unwholesome practice and deliberate on the budget bill thoroughly so that not a penny of taxpayers’ money is wasted.

If Park wants to secure full cooperation from the NPAD leaders, she will have to clarify her stance on the textbook issue that has engulfed political circles.

She needs to address the persistent concern of critics that the state-designated history textbooks may be used to whitewash or glamorize pro-Japan activities during the colonial era and the military dictatorships decades ago.

Park will have to pledge that the proposed history textbooks will never include any distorted description of the past historical events.

The NPAD leaders may be tempted to use the Cheong Wa Dae meeting to attack what they see as Park’s erroneous policies. But they should resist the temptation and do their best to make the dialogue constructive.

We hope Park and the party leaders expand common ground on pressing national tasks while agreeing to operate the National Assembly efficiently and pass urgent bills swiftly.