Seoul denies reports of August inter-Korean summit

President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un embrace at the inter-Korean summit on April 27. THE KOREA HERALD

SEOUL — The date of the third inter-Korean summit and plans for sending an envoy to North Korea remain undecided, Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday.

A local daily had reported that National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon is set to visit the North in the near future to discuss the possibility of holding the third inter-Korean summit in late August.

President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met on the South’s side of Panmunjom in April, and on the North’s side in May. In the April 27 summit, the two sides agreed to ease tensions, and to hold another summit in Pyongyang in autumn.

“Nothing has been decided in relation to summit talks,” a high-level Cheong Wa Dae official said in a message to reporters. The official also ruled out reports of the summit taking place in August, saying that the issue has not been discussed with North Korea.

“Inter-Korean matters could be brought forward or pushed back depending on the progress (of discussions).”

While a summit in Pyongyang in August may not be in the works, there is speculation that Moon and Kim could meet in Indonesia.

Earlier this month, Indonesia invited Moon and Kim to the opening ceremony of the Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games on Aug. 18.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo also sent special envoys to North Korea this week to deliver his invitation to Kim.

The Indonesian delegation was led by Coordinating Human Development and Cultural Affairs Minister Puan Maharani, who met with the North’s ceremonial head of state Kim Yong-nam.

While neither Moon nor Kim confirmed their attendance, the two Koreas have agreed to enter the opening ceremony together under the Korean Unification Flag as they did in the PyeongChang Olympics earlier this year.

The Korean Unification Flag, which shows a blue map of the Korean Peninsula against a white background, has have been used by the two Koreas when collaborating in international sporting events.

In addition, the two Koreas are fielding joint teams in a number of categories including rowing and canoe events, and women’s basketball.