Korean summit rumors resurface

Grand National Party lawmaker Chung Hyung-keun yesterday reignited rumors that the government is pushing for an inter-Korean summit this year.

"Contrary to what President Roh Moo-hyun had said, there are apparently working-level discussions with North Korea with an aim to hold an inter-Korean summit on Aug. 15," Chung said at a senior party member meeting.

Aug. 15 is Liberation Day, which is celebrated by both Koreas.

President Roh had denied similar speculation earlier this year, saying that a summit with the North would only be possible when progress has been made in the nuclear negotiations.

Chung said his information had come from a credible source.

"I have been told that the government is pushing to hold the Aug. 15 summit in Seoul and to hold four-way talks including the United States and China in September," he said.

The plans are in line with turning the cease-fire treaty on the Korean Peninsula into a peace treaty, he explained.

The conservative lawmaker also claimed that the plans aimed to undermine opposition forces in the upcoming presidential election, and contended it was premature to sign a peace treaty with the North given lingering suspicions over its commitment to denuclearization.

(angiely@heraldm.com)



By Lee Joo-hee