South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak said Thursday he is open to a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, but the North should first show it is committed to peace. "I may or may not hold an inter-Korean summit during my term," Lee said during a nationally televised panel discussion. "If a summit is going to be held, there should be a guarantee that (North Korea) will bring peace to the Korean peninsula and won't make provocations."
Lee, whose term ends in February 2013, has previously expressed willingness in principle to hold a summit but has said it should produce meaningful results. On Thursday he said the North had committed provocations in waters near the disputed western sea border despite the previous two summits with the South, in 2000 and 2007.
Lee, in comments quoted by Yonhap news agency, also said he wants to help North Korea revive its crumbling economy and maintain its security. "I can hold (an inter-Korean summit) at any time if it helps open peace and prosperity between the two Koreas," he said. Ties have been frosty since Lee took over in 2008 from a left-leaning administration which practised a "sunshine" policy of aid and engagement.
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