Inter-Korean summit still possible within this year: Cheong Wa Dae

SEOUL, May 11 (Yonhap) -- President Moon Jae-in remains committed to pushing for another summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at an early date, Cheong Wa Dae said on Monday.

Speaking in an interview with Yonhap News TV, presidential spokesman Kang Min-seok stressed it's too early to rule out the possibility of the two holding their fourth summit within this year.

"Truly, it seems difficult at the moment, but we do not know what the variables will be in South-North relations. So we need to watch (what will happen)," he said.

The all-news cable channel is an affiliate of Yonhap News Agency, South Korea's key wire service.

Kang said Cheong Wa Dae will strive to create conditions for the summit by exploring inter-Korean cooperation projects "beginning from what's possible."

The government will continue relevant efforts "with patience," he added.

The previous day, Moon again expressed hope for quarantine cooperation between the two Koreas as a catalyst for various other joint projects, which are either immune from U.N.-led sanctions on Pyongyang or possible to get sanctions waivers for.

South Korea, in particular, is seeking to reconnect railways across the demilitarized zone (DMZ) and enable its citizens to make individual tours of the communist neighbor.

Marking the third anniversary of his inauguration, Moon told reporters that Seoul's related offers are still valid but that there's been no response from Pyongyang yet.

Moon and Kim had three rounds of summit talks in 2018, once in Pyongyang and twice at the border village of Panmunjom.

lcd@yna.co.kr
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