By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter

South Korea is aiming for a summit meeting between President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il sometime this year, a senior government official said Tuesday.

``The government is pushing for a second inter-Korean summit within this year for an early settlement to the nuclear problem and further advances in inter-Korean relations,’’ the official said on condition of anonymity. ``It is likely to happen before the U.S. presidential election in November.’’

The official predicted the North’s Mt. Kumgang as the most viable candidate for the venue, but did not rule out the possibility of Kim crossing the border to visit South Korea’s resort island of Cheju.

The official’s remarks indicated a significant change in the government’s stance. President Roh has previously said he was in no hurry to meet with the North Korean leader as long as the North Korean nuclear standoff remained unresolved.

The presidential office of Chong Wa Dae, however, denied that it was pushing for an early summit even before the resolution of the nuclear issue.

``It is not true that we’ve set a specific time schedule to arrange an inter-Korean summit,’’ presidential spokesman Kim Jong-min said. ``It would be possible only when significant progress is made in efforts to end the nuclear problem.’’

He evaded the question whether the ``significant progress’’ meant the North’s ``nuclear freeze’’ proposed in the recent six-party talks in Beijing as the first step toward an ultimate dismantling of all nuclear weapons programs.

Despite such denial, experts on inter-Korean affairs expected the summit might be held on Aug. 15, the National Liberation Day marking Korea’s liberation from the 1910-45 Japanese rule, or in October when a historic trial run will be conducted on the Tonghae Railway Line passing across the heavily fortified border.

With inter-Korean relations thawing in an amiable atmosphere and North Korea showing a positive attitude to resolving the nuclear crisis, a reciprocal visit by Kim has often been mentioned in recent weeks.

During the first historic inter-Korean summit with Kim Dae-jung, Roh’s predecessor, in Pyongyang in June 2000, the reclusive North Korean leader promised to pay a reciprocal visit to South Korea at an ``opportune time.’’

Despite improvements in inter-Korean relations, however, he has not keep his promise due to various reasons at home and abroad, including the launch of George W. Bush’s U.S. administration in 2001, the nuclear standoff that began in October 2002 and South Korea’s presidential election in December 2002.

An aide to Kim Dae-jung recently quoted Chinese officials as saying Kim Jong-il, who made a rare trip to Beijing in April, was still ready to visit South Korea when the time was right.

Some media reports also said that the second inter-Korean summit would be held in Russia through the good offices of Russian President Vladimir Putin this fall.

The reports had it that Roh might engage in trilateral and bilateral meetings with his North Korean and Russian counterparts in the Russian Far East city of Vladivostok in September when Roh is expected to make a state visit to Russia.

jinryu@koreatimes.co.kr