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President Moon Jae-in presides over the second meeting of the inter-Korean summit preparatory committee at the Blue House on Mar. 21. (Blue House Photo Pool)

The Blue House proposed high-level talks with North Korea on Mar. 22 to prepare for an inter-Korean summit scheduled for late April. The talks will take place at the Tongilgak building on the North Korean side of Panmunjeom on Mar. 29 and include discussions with North Korea on details concerning the summit schedule and agenda, including Seoul’s suggestion for a summit date.

“Ahead of the inter-Korean summit in late April, we have decided to make a proposal to the South for high-level inter-Korean talks, suggesting Mar. 29 as a date and Tongilgak at Panmunjeom as a location,” said Blue House spokesperson Kim Eui-kyum in a briefing on a plenary session of the inter-Korean summit preparatory committee that day.

“We plan to send a total of three people, including Minister of Unification Cho Myoung-gyon and one representative each from the Blue House and National Intelligence Service,” Kim added.

In terms of the content to be discussed at the high-level talks, Kim said the participants were “to propose basic matters concerning the summit schedule, agenda, and delegations.”

The Ministry of Unification sent its announcement to North Korea on Mar. 22 through the inter-Korean communications channel in Panmunjeom. Regarding the summit date, a Blue House senior official said, “We have our plan, but it would not be appropriate to divulge that [for now].”

President Moon Jae-in, who is preparing to depart on a seven-day overseas tour on Mar. 22, attended a meeting of the inter-Korean summit preparatory committee the same day.

“We need to institutionalize the term agreed upon at the inter-Korean summit,” he stressed during the meeting. “Only with the National Assembly’s ratification will the agreement be pursued continuously whatever happens in terms of the political situation.”

Moon went on to cite the example of the October 4 joint declaration agreed upon by then-South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in 2007.

“It had the support of the [South Korean] public, it was praised by the rest of the world, the UN came out with a unanimous support resolution, but what has it achieved?” he asked.

“Implementing the terms of the inter-Korean summit agreement will also require parliamentary consent because it involves the spending of state finances,” he added, calling on the committee members to “prepare for an inter-Korean summit agreement that includes all of the basic terms agreed upon at the last two summits for National Assembly ratification.”

Meanwhile, Kim Eui-kyum also announced plans for “active support for unimpeded reporting by members of the domestic and foreign press, given the attention on the inter-Korean summit from the rest of the world.”

“We plan to have ample interpreting and translation staff as well as experts in inter-Korean issues at the scene to provide consultation and grant interviews with the overseas press,” he added.

A large-scale press center is to be set up at the Kintex convention center in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, while the inter-Korean summit is going on, while a small-scale press room is to be run at Freedom House around 50 meters away from the meeting venue in Panmunjeom.

By Kim Bo-hyeop, staff reporter

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