By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
Former President Kim Dae-jung, who held the first inter-Korean summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in June 2000, Wednesday hailed the second summit talks between the two Koreas set for Aug. 28-30, his aides said.
Kim, 81, won the Nobel Peace Prize on Dec. 8 in 2000 in recognition of his efforts to bring a peaceful mood to the Korean Peninsula.
``I hail the agreement to hold the inter-Korean summit talks,'' Kim said. ``I hope the second meeting will make progress in bilateral exchanges and cooperation, and settling down peace on the peninsula.''
Kim was informed of the decision on the summit talks from Park Jie-won, former presidential chief of staff, two hours before the two Koreas announced it, his aides said.
The first summit held from June 13-15, 2000, in Pyongyang was encouraged by Kim's ``Berlin Declaration,'' in which he said that Seoul had no intention to seek unification with the North by absorption.
The Nobel Peace laureate has stressed inter-Korean cooperation for permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.
A month later, the two Koreas declared that they would hold the first ever inter-Korean summit and began preparations for the meeting.
After the summit talks, Kim and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il agreed to propel inter-Korean projects such as the joint industrial complex in Gaeseong, a North Korean border city, and tourism to the North's scenic Mt. Geumgang.
Since then, the two sides have held ministerial-level talks and organized reunions of separated families.
Kim Dae-jung, the architect of the ``sunshine policy'' of engaging the Stalinist North, proposed in May to have a summit on a regular basis whenever a new president is elected in the South.
Even though Kim retired from the presidency in 2003, he still has great clout with the government and lawmakers.
Many pro-government presidential hopefuls, including former Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan and former Gyeonggi Governor Sohn Hak-kyu, insist that they are the right person to succeed Kim, ahead of the Dec. 19 presidential election.