By Reuben Staines
Staff Reporter

Uri Party chairman Lee Bu-young said Wednesday the ruling party will push for a second inter-Korean summit meeting in order to defuse the protracted standoff over North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs.

``The Uri Party will push for a second summit by using all possible channels, including civilian ones,’’ Lee said during an interview with an SBS radio program.

The comments come amid rampant speculation that the government is seeking to persuade North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to agree to a follow-up to the June 2000 summit. Seoul officials have been quick to deny persistent media reports.

But Lee said: ``Maybe the Seoul government is paying attention to holding a second summit and pondering the best timing to hold it.’’ He met with President Roh Moo-hyun on Monday to discuss various issues.

The ruling party chief argued that South Korea should work closely with China, Russia and Japan to ensure that the nuclear standoff does not take a turn for the worse after the U.S. presidential election in November.

The six-party talks on the nuclear dispute have shown signs of stalling ahead of the U.S. poll.

``Whoever is elected in November, we have to prepare measures to prevent a conflict between the United States and North Korea,’’ he said, adding that arranging an inter-Korean summit could be one such measure.

Lee departs for Beijing today to participate in the International Conference of Asian Political Parties. A Uri Party spokesman told The Korea Times that no meetings with North Korean officials are scheduled.

Responding to Lee’s comments, Ban Ki-moon, minister of foreign affairs and trade, rejected the possibility of an imminent summit aimed at resolving the nuclear crisis.

He said holding a second summit would be an important stepping stone in the inter-Korean reconciliation process and should not be undertaken simply to ease tensions between Washington and Pyongyang ahead of the U.S. election.

``Still, as Chong Wa Dae has repeatedly said before, if a second inter-Korean summit were to be held, it would be only when it can serve as a useful catalyst for resolving the nuclear problem, or when we see a turning point in resolving the nuclear issue,’’ Ban explained during a media briefing.

``But there is nothing that I can say about the possibility of any summit meeting between the two Koreas around the November poll in the U.S.,’’ he told reporters.

Though still a denial, Ban’s statement indicates a shift in the government’s position on holding summit talks.

Previously it ruled out arranging a second inter-Korean meeting until North Korea agrees to give up its nuclear programs, but now Seoul frames it as one way in which such a dismantlement deal could be brokered. Roh has said massive rewards await the North if it agrees to scrap its nuclear facilities.

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, currently visiting the U.S., on Tuesday discussed the nuclear standoff and inter-Korean cooperation with top Washington officials, including State Secretary Colin Powell, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Rice and Rumsfeld reportedly expressed support for inter-Korean economic cooperation.

rjs@koreatimes.co.kr