By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
The presidential office denied Monday that North Korea's delegation dispatched to the late former President Kim Dae-jung's state funeral had proposed an inter-Korean summit between President Lee Myung-bak and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
The six delegates met with President Lee Sunday and delivered a message from their leader but the presidential office did not release what they talked about in accordance with diplomatic protocol.
"During the meeting, they had general discussions on how to improve inter-Korean relations but did not mention anything at all regarding an inter-Korean summit,'' the office said in a press release.
The delegation led by Kim Ki-nam, a secretary of the Workers' Party Central Committee, returned to Pyongyang Sunday after paying respect to the late Kim who had the first inter-Korean summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in 2000.
Their three-day trip was expected to offer a chance to jumpstart relations between Seoul and Pyongyang.
They are the first North Korean officials to visit South Korea since the Lee administration was inaugurated in February last year.
The North Koreans met with Unification Minister Hyun In-taek Saturday, but the detailed words they exchanged also remained sealed.
They later extended their stay to meet with President Lee.
The delegates reportedly conveyed a message from Kim and expressed regret over the faded spirits of inter-Korean accords.
North Korea has denounced South Korea for its hesitation to implement the June 15 Joint Declaration and Oct. 4 Accord signed between Kim Jong-il and the late Presidents Kim and Roh Moo-hyun, respectively.
In a separate move, South Korea's Red Cross suggested a meeting with its North Korean counterpart at Mt. Geumgang in the North from today until Friday to discuss the reunion of displaced families as agreed between Hyundai Group and the North Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee earlier this month.
Unification Ministry spokesman Chung Hae-sung said North Korea has yet to respond to the proposal.