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South Korea should consult fully with the United States before making any changes to the inter-Korean sea border, as the issue could end up strengthening North Korea's leader, a U.S. defense expert said Thursday.

Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at the RAND Corporation, compared the situation to two brothers working together at a family farm.

"And your brother suddenly announces that part of the family farm will be given to the neighbor without having detailed discussions with you. How are you going to feel?" he said.

A controversy continues in Seoul over whether the Northern Limit Line (NLL) should be on the agenda of the upcoming inter-Korean summit, which is scheduled to be held Oct. 2-4.

The NLL, drawn at the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War, has served as a de-facto sea border between the two countries that remain technically at war since they did not sign a peace treaty.

The NLL was determined by the United Nations Command when South and North Korea could not agree on a sea border at the end of the war. Pyongyang now insists on formal negotiations with Seoul over the issue. South Korean officials indicated that the matter may be raised at next month's summit.

Bennett, speaking at forum sponsored by the South Korean embassy here, said renegotiating the NLL is a big step.

"It is also a kind of thing where if Kim Jong-il is really looking to suggest that he is being successful, that would be tremendously successful for him," he said, referring to North Korea's top leader.

"How much do we really want to reward and strengthen him? That's the kind of issue here," said Bennett.

Should Seoul decide to unilaterally make decisions on the NLL, it would not reflect well on the alliance with Washington, he said.

"If the South Korean government has a reason to believe that's the reasonable outcome and they can convince the U.S. government, then I think it's not going to hurt the alliance," the analyst said.

"But if they don't go about that process, then I think there will be people who are not going to be happy."

WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 (Yonhap)