Asked if the presidential office was looking at an inter-Korean summit, an official in the security office said, "We’re studying various ways on the premise that the initial implementation of North Korea's denuclearization measures and the disablement of North Korean nuclear facilities will proceed smoothly. We are studying the possibility of an inter-Korean summit, a four-party summit (with the U.S. and China), declaring an end to the Korean War, and concluding a peace agreement between the two Koreas."

Until recently, Cheong Wa Dae has maintained the time is not right for a summit. But now the North seems on track to shut down its nuclear facilities under a Feb. 13 agreement, there seems to have been a substantial shift.

Former prime minister Lee Hae-chan in an interview in Monday’s Kyunghyang Shinmun daily said a meeting between President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is possible this year “unless there are any unexpected obstacles.” Cheong Wa Dae “has started preparing the agenda,” he added. Lee said he recommended this to the president during the Jeju Peace Forum on June 22.

With North Korea’s frozen funds freed from the Banco Delta Asia and the nuclear facility at Yongbyon on the verge of being sealed, “I suggested to the president that he start preparing the agenda for an inter-Korean summit and help bring about a four-party (summit) as soon as possible,” Lee said. In May, the security office hosted a closed-door seminar attended by security think tanks including the Korea Institute for Defense Analysis. Participants reportedly suggested that South Korea propose declaring an end to the Korean War on Aug. 15 Liberation Day.

Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung did not deny this could happen, saying only, “We should wait and see how the six-party (nuclear) talks proceed." That could mean a significant shift in the security situation around the time of a Seoul-Washington summit in late September.

(englishnews@chosun.com )