YONHAP NEWS

U.S. says no specific summit proposal by N. Korea

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 (Yonhap) -- The White House on Sunday said North Korea has not made any specific proposal for an inter-Korean summit, although the two Koreas have discussed overall improvements in cross-border ties.

   A senior White House official said that a North Korean delegation met with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in August to discuss ways to improve bilateral ties, but added, "there was no specific invitation to President Lee."

   The North Korean delegation made the visit to Seoul to mourn the death of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, who pursued engagement with the North despite Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.

   The official's comments were a clarification of earlier remarks by a senior Pentagon official who told reporters Thursday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il had proposed a summit with Lee.

   "Now suddenly we reached charm face with North Korea, with Kim Jong-il inviting Lee Myung-bak of the Republic of Korea to visit Pyongyang, with (Premier) Wen Jiabao from China going to visit Pyongyang," the Pentagon official had said at the time.

   The remarks prompted South Korean media to report that Kim Jong-il had proposed an inter-Korean summit.

   The White House official said the remarks stemmed from a "misunderstanding."

   South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said earlier in the day that there was no summit proposal, and that there may have been a misunderstanding in the course of information sharing within the U.S. administration on the issue.

   Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell, addressing the controversy, said Saturday, "The government of President Lee Myung-bak is on record as expressing its longstanding willingness in principle to hold talks with North Korea, including at the level of the two leaders, in order to promote denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

   "Any decision regarding possible talks between South and North Korea, however, would be made by the Republic of Korea," he said.

   hdh@yna.co.kr
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