By Lee Tae-hoon
Staff Reporter
Cheong Wa Dae dismissed speculation, Sunday, that the government was trying to hold an inter-Korean submit this year.
``As of now, there has been no attempt to arrange an inter-Korean summit,'' Lee Dong-kwan, senior presidential secretary for public relations, told reporters.
The remark came after President Lee Myung-bak expressed the possibility of meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to discuss the communist regime's nuclear issues in an interview with the BBC in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday.
``Simply put, what President Lee really wanted to say was that he wishes a paradigm shift in inter-Korean relations,'' secretary Lee said.
He said Lee's remarks reflect his strong doubts about holding a meeting as a one-off political event.
``The President thinks he can forgo an inter-Korean summit during his tenure if it is arranged as a political event,'' the secretary said.
However, he did not completely rule out the possibility of an early summit, saying, ``President Lee intended to say that he was willing to have an inter-Korean submit, even within the year, if it is principled and meets with certain conditions.''
He underlined that Lee would not with meet Kim for the sake of political gain or to draw media attention.
leeth@koreatimes.co.kr
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