hankyoreh

Former South Korean President and Nobel Peace laureate Kim Dae-jung said Tuesday an inter-Korean summit is more likely this year.

"The possibility of an inter-Korean summit is higher than ever, as President Roh Moo-hyun has vowed to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-il anytime, anywhere," the former president said in an interview with Buddhist Broadcasting System, a Seoul-based radio network.

Kim met with North Korean leader Kim in Pyongyang in June 2000 for the first-ever inter-Korean summit. At that time, the North Korean leader promised to make a return visit to Seoul, but has yet to carry out the promise.

The former president emphasized the necessity of a summit between the two Koreas, saying it depends totally on the North's attitude. He said any progress in inter-Korean relations should not be interpreted politically, particularly in the year of South Korea's presidential election slated for December.

Kim made it clear that he would not intervene in the upcoming presidential poll.

"I'm too old and frail to be directly involved in domestic politics. I just wish to contribute to peaceful unification," he said.

Meanwhile, Lee Su-hoon, chairman of the Presidential Committee on Northeast Asian Cooperation Initiative, suggested that a second inter-Korean summit would be realized only after North Korea enters an early stage for the dismantling of its nuclear weapons program.

"President Roh has never said he would not hold an inter-Korean summit. Roh's meeting with Kim will come true after things to be exchanged by the two Koreas become clear," Lee said in an interview with PBS Radio.

"Hostility between North Korea and the United States will be eliminated if the North takes an initial step to scrap its nuclear program. International society should also be convinced of the (necessity of an) inter-Korean summit."

He forecast that there could be an unexpected breakthrough in the North Korean nuclear dispute. "We wish the recessed six-party talks (on the North Korean nuclear problem) will resume before the end of February. Momentum could be lost if the recess is prolonged."

Seoul, Jan. 2 (Yonhap News)