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S. Korean president sets peace as precondition of inter-Korean summit

08 September 2011 19:44 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said Thursday that he is open to a summit with the Democratic Peopleâ€™s Republic of Korea (DPRK), but there should be a guarantee that the inter-Korean summit will bring peace to the Korean Peninsula, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Lee made the remarks during a nationally televised panel discussion Thursday night, just days before Chuseok, one of the nationâ€™s biggest holidays.

The two Koreas held two rounds of summit talks in past years, but they seem to have done nothing to the nation as series of incidents kept taking place in waters off the west coast, Lee noted.

Lee said he may or may not hold an inter-Korean summit during his term, but if a summit was held, both sides should promise to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula and not to make provocations.

An inter-Korean summit can be held at any time if it helps open peace and prosperity between the two sides, Lee added.

As for a gas pipeline project linking Russia and South Korea via the DPRK, Lee believed it could move forward "faster than expected".

Discussions are underway between the DPRK and Russia, and as well between Seoul and Moscow, Lee said, noting that when time is right, the three parties will hold trilateral talks about it. "It is good for three parties," Lee said.