By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
Foreign Affairs Minister Song Min-soon said Sunday that President Roh Moo-hyun has no concrete plan to have a summit with three or four heads of state to declare the end of the 1950-53 Korean War within his term.
``President Roh Moo-hyun also has no concrete thought of doing something during his presidency,'' Song told reporters when asked about the summit on ending of the war at the Incheon International Airport. He was about to depart for Canada and the United States.
Song said that heads of state will meet at an appropriate time when the denuclearization of North Korea reaches a certain level of progress. But it is not agreed that presidents would first meet to declare something, Song added.
He stressed that there is no difference within the government and between Korea and the United States on when to declare the end of the war.
However, Song's remark again runs counter to the presidential office's position to hold the summits to end the war during Roh's office.
Baek Jong-chun, chief presidential secretary for security affairs and foreign policy, said late last month that the heads of state should meet to declare the war end and start the negotiation for a peace system on the Korean Peninsula.
In response, Song said Baek's words are not consistent with general principles of foreign policies.
Roh and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il agreed during their summit in Pyongyang last month that three or four heads of state will announce the end of the war on the peninsula.
Song will meet U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday to discuss denuclearization of North Korea and other bilateral issues.