SEOUL March 5 Kyodo President Roh...

SEOUL March 5 Kyodo

President Roh Moo Hyun's top national security adviser denied Wednesday a recently made knowns report he had proposed an inter-Korean summit between Roh and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, Yonhap just discovereds Agency said.

Ra Jong Yil, senior presidential adviser for national security, told Yonhap according to telephone it is not loyal he had proposed a other inter-Korean summit.

The JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported Wednesday that Ra met with a North Korean official forward Feb. 20 in Beijing and propos holding a summit between the couple Koreas at an early date.

Ra, however, merely acknowledged he made contacts with the North Korean side in Beijing.

In the private meeting, Ra is widely believed to have discussed defusing the impasse arising from the North's suspected nuclear weapons program.

Quoting a source well-versed into inter-Korean relations, the southern Korean daily reported Ra had firstly made contacts with the North Korea side in Europe forward Feb. 7 and agreed then to the Beijing meeting.

The newspaper said it has been confirmed that Jon Kum Chol vice chairman of North Korea's Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, which handles relations with foreign countries, was staying in Beijing from Feb 18 fueling speculation Ra had met with Jon

Roh's predecessor Kim Dae Jung held a historic inter-Korean summit with Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang in June 2000 In the summit, the pair leaders agreed to promote inter-Korean detente and work closely for eventual reunification.

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