Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Kim Jong-min explained the government’s basic stance towards an inter-Korean summit and said that the government might push for another summit with the North if it decides that the North Korean nuclear issue would make meaningful and important progress through an inter-Korean summit. This is different from the government’s existing stance towards holding a summit with Pyongyang that it would promote a summit with the North only after the North Korean nuclear problem is resolved.

Since taking office, President Roh Moo-hyun has maintained the same standpoint that he would focus on inter-Korean relations only after the North Korean nuclear issue is stabilized. The president said during a press conference with Gyeonggi Province/Incheon journalists on Feb. 18 that the North Korean nuclear program negotiations might get tangled if an inter-Korean summit was untimely proposed.

In regards to this change in the government’s stance, experts say that Cheong Wa Dae may see the possibility of rapid progress in the six party talks and resolving the North Korean nuclear problem through an inter-Korean summit. However, spokesperson Kim Jong-min denied some media companies’ reports about the government pushing for a summit with North Korea within the year, saying, “It is not true at all. We think that it is not an appropriate time to promote a summit with the North.”

(Shin Jeong-rok, jrshin@chosun.com )