By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
Rep. Rhee Q-taek of the conservative Grand National Party (GNP) said Friday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il may visit Jeju Island in late October to reciprocate President Roh Moo-hyun's visit to Pyongyang for a summit from Aug. 28-30.
Rhee, 65, claimed that the third inter-Korean summit could affect the December presidential election in the South.
The government, however, denied the rumor the four-term lawmaker made.
``Rumors have it that Kim would meet with President Roh Moo-hyun in the South's Jeju Island after holding the second summit talks in Pyongyang late this month,'' Rhee said in a radio interview.
He quoted a former official of the nation's counter-intelligence agency as saying that the Pyongyang meeting was the premise for Kim's visit to Jeju.
The North Korean leader was supposed to come to the South for the second inter-Korean summit but Roh promised to go to the North first in return for Kim's Jeju visit, he said.
Kim promised to have the second inter-Korean summit in the South during the first summit talks with former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung in 2000.
Rhee expressed concern that a possible Jeju summit could negatively affect the GNP which enjoys support of about 40 percent in surveys ahead of the Dec. 19 presidential race.
``If Roh and Kim Jong-il agree on dismantling the North's main nuclear facilities in Yongbyon and disarmament, it would affect the crucial election. Otherwise, the Pyongyang summit would have no influence,'' he said.
Kim Jong-il's return visit to Jeju, however, if realized, could greatly impinge on the race, he added.
``I heard the incumbent governments of the South and North share the view that the GNP must not win the election,'' he said. ``The two sides will do anything to hinder the GNP's victory.''
The South's presidential office denied the suspicion claiming how could the third summit be set up when the second one has yet to take place.
Minister of Unification Lee Jae-joung also said he had not heard of a return visit.
Since South and North Korea announced Monday that their two leaders will hold a second inter-Korean summit in late August in Pyongyang, the GNP has said that there must have been a secret deal for it.
The GNP has argued that complete nuclear disarmament should precede any aid or summits.
On Thursday, Rep. Chung Hyeong-keun, a former senior official of the National Intelligence Service, raised suspicion that there was an under-the-table deal between the two Koreas.
``I suspect there was a political deal such as South Korea's provision of a light-water reactor for North Korea,'' Chung said.
Rep. Kim Jung-hoon, a member of the National Assembly's Intelligence Committee, said Cheong Wa Dae might have promised some $10 billion in loans for the Kim Jong-il regime as part of social overhead capital (SOC) investment.
With about four months to go before the presidential election, GNP presidential contenders Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye are leading surveys with about 30 percent and 20 percent of support, respectively.
ksy@koreatimes.co.kr
