“Pyongyang Suggests Inter-Korean Summit,” Says Former
Unification Minister
“Pyongyang Suggests Inter-Korean Summit,” Says Former Unification Minister
As the political sector’s interest on the possibility of inter-Korean summit talks has increased, former Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun reconfirmed yesterday that North Korea had suggested a summit in a third country outside the Korean peninsula at the beginning of President Roh Moo-hyun's administration.
On a radio show, Jeong reconfirmed what former President Kim Dae-jung stated recently. When asked about the comment, “Recently, former President Kim Dae-jung said that North Korea suggested an inter-Korean summit talk at the onset of the President Roh administration,” he said, “Yes, it is true.”
The former minister also said, “The North would like to hold an inter-Korean summit talk outside of the Korean peninsula due to the matter of security for the North Korean leader Kim. We were given those sorts of suggestions several times from the North even after 2000. However, we decided hosting an inter-Korean summit in a third country outside of the Korean peninsula at the onset of the new administration had no meaning.”
Jeong also stated, “Regarding the former president’s recent comment, the current administration asserted that there was only discussion on the exchange of special envoys, but special envoys meant for hosting an inter-Korean summit talk.”
Regarding the timing of an appropriate inter-Korean summit talk, he said, “It will be desirable to hold a summit after the completion of the North’s nuclear dismantlement process or at least before June this year.”
On a radio show on February 5, former President Kim Dae-jung revealed that at the beginning of the Roh administration, the matter of holding an inter-Korean summit in a third country was discussed, but the discussion was halted before it almost came true.
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 / 입력시간: 2007. 02.21. 08:27
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