SEOUL, July 7 (UPI) -- South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said Thursday he is ready to meet with his North Korean counterpart and asked that Kim Jong Il make a return visit to Seoul.
Roh said he hopes to meet Kim "at any time and any place," but said he did not see any imminent "good signs" for another inter-Korean summit.
Kim promised to pay a return visit to Seoul in 2002 when he met then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung for the first summit in Pyongyang. But Kim delayed, citing tensions in the wake of the Bush administration's tough stance against North Korea.
"Holding the summit itself should not be the goal. ... However, I am open to it, and therefore we can still have a chance for the summit," he said.
Roh also urged the North Korean leader to address international concerns about Pyongyang's nuclear weapons drive.
He refused to reveal what the "important proposal" to the North was meant. South Korea has recently offered an "important proposal" to North Korea if it returns to nuclear talks.
