By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
As South and North Koreas agreed to hold a second inter-Korean summit in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, again, speculations are arising over the reason.
Kim had promised to make a return visit to Seoul for a second summit with the South Korean president after the first-ever summit meeting in Pyongyang with former President Kim Dae-jung in 2000.
While Seoul officials downplayed the importance of summit place, some North Korea watchers said the North Korean leader is worried about his security outside the North.
In a press conference, Kim Man-bok, chief of the National Intelligence Service, said North Korea had proposed Pyongyang as the summit place, describing the capital ``the best place to give the best treatment to Roh.''
``President Roh Moo-hyun has said the door to a second inter-Korean summit is always open and he is ready to meet (with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il) anytime, anywhere,'' Kim who headed the arrangement of the summit said.
Professor Koh Yu-hwan of Dongguk University in Seoul, said the North Korean leader seemed to feel insecure in a meeting in the South.
``Kim Jong-il has always been concerned about his security, particularly outside the North. I believe he was not sure of his security in South Korea, where pro-North Korean and anti-North Korean groups frequently conflict,'' Koh said. ``As Roh has made it clear that he is ready meet with Kim anyplace, I think the place is not likely to be a variable in the summit.''
Seo Jae-jin, a researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said that the North wants to promote their ``dear leader's authority'' by inviting the South Korean president to their place.
``North Korean authorities would likely use the summit in Pyongyang as a tool for hero-worshipping Kim in the North,'' Seo said.
Some experts raise speculation that the North asked Pyongyang as the summit place due to Kim's bad health.
Kim's health has been the subject of intense speculation in recent months as he was found to have had hearty surgery in May.
Citing unidentified Western diplomats in Pyongyang, the Daily Telegraph in the United Kingdom reported in June that the Stalinist leader's health was ``so unwell'' and could not walk more than 30 yards without a rest.
The newspaper said a team of six doctors from Germany treated Kim, who was suffering from a heart disease and diabetes.
Kim, however, increased public activities in the past week, despite the loss of weight and hair, what analysts say a move to strengthen his rule over the regime and dispel concerns about his health.