Reports: DPRK's Kim wants summit with ROK

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-08-24 10:08

SEOUL: The leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong-il has sent word that he wants to hold a summit with the President of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Lee Myung-bak in the latest sign of easing tensions between the two nations, news reports said Monday.

Kim's envoy proposed the summit during a rare meeting Sunday, and Lee told the envoy that he would be open to a summit if it is discuss the DPRK's nuclear program, the ROK's mass-circulation Chosun Ilbo daily reported, citing an unidentified government official.

Another leading newspaper, the JoongAng Ilbo, carried a similar report.

However, the ROK's presidential Blue House denied the reports, saying that Lee and the DPRK's envoy had general discussions on improving relations between the two sides, but that nothing related to a summit was mentioned.

The DPRK has significantly softened its stance toward the ROK in recent weeks, freeing a ROK worker held there for more than four months, lifting restrictions on border crossings and agreeing to resume suspended joint projects.

The DPRK's envoy, senior ruling Workers' Party official Kim Ki Nam, visited Seoul from Friday until Sunday, leading a four-member delegation to pay Pyongyang's official respect for late ROK President Kim Dae-jung. The team also included Pyongyang's spy chief, Kim Yang Gon.

They were the first DPRK officials to visit the ROK since the conservative Lee took office early last year with a pledge to get tough with the north neighbor and put a stop to unconditional aid. Lee's hard-line stance angered the DPRK, prompting it to suspend reconciliation talks and major joint projects.

The DPRK and the ROK are technically in a state of war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.