Why is the second inter-Korean summit set for Aug. 28-30?

Kim Man-bok, the director of the National Intelligence Service, said the North suggested the summit be held in Pyongyang “in late August." It is not clear which side, Seoul or Pyongyang, proposed the date, but it is likely that the North proposed it considering that Pyongyang usually holds talks over four days, mostly starting on a Tuesday.

Some people have drawn attention to the fact that the summit will coincide with joint South Korean-U.S. military exercises known as the Ulchi Focus Lens. In other words, the South Korean commander-in-chief is set to meet the leader of the enemy forces during a military exercise that treats North Korea as a hypothetical enemy, and some fear this would compromise the basic meaning of the drills. Another delicate point is that Aug. 29, the day when the two leaders will likely have their first discussion, is the anniversary of the day that Japan formally declared the annexation of Korea in 1910.

Then there is the proximity to the Grand National Party's primary on Aug. 19 and announcement of the result the following day. Many suspect the summit dates have something to do with the GNP's primary schedule, given that Pyongyang has issued dire warnings in case the GNP should take power. Normally, when a political party picks its presidential nominee, the candidate enjoys their highest-ever approval ratings for a month thereafter. With the summit to be held a mere eight days after the nomination, the GNP candidate may be overshadowed by the summit. If it was planned as a spanner in the works of the GNP candidate, it was a masterly stroke. The ruling camp can now make maximum capital from the summit, dodging charges that it is obviously stealing the show since it comes a week after the primary, not before.

The GNP, meanwhile, said it does not oppose the summit itself since the date has already been fixed, but called for the meeting to focus on a solution to the North Korean nuclear issue and warned it must not be abused for election purposes.

GNP Chairman Kang Jae-sup called an emergency meeting with senior party members and presidential contenders on Wednesday. "The inter-Korean summit should target a complete solution of the North Korean nuclear issue and it doesn’t end up as a show event for the sake of the presidential election,” he said. "But the upcoming summit will probably damage the national interest given that it has been arranged so hastily, has no clear agenda and the venue is Pyongyang."

The GNP's leading presidential contender Lee Myung-bak said, "I'm not against an inter-Korean summit if it can find a solution to the North Korean nuclear issue and open North Korea up. But (the government) mustn't use it for the 2007 presidential." Lee's rival Park Geun-hye said, "What we should say is that a peace program cannot proceed at all due to the nuclear issue. Now with a summit already scheduled, we should demand that they solve the nuclear issue and open the agenda to the public."

Presidential hopefuls within the broad ruling camp --consisting of the United New Democratic Party, the Uri Party and the rump Democratic Party -- all welcomed the summit. Ex-Gyeonggi Province governor Sohn Hak-kyu said, "During my visit to Pyongyang in May, I called for a second inter-Korean summit. I strongly welcome the fact that a summit I've called for several times is being held." Former Uri chairman Chung Dong-young said, "When I met North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in 2005, we agreed not to stick to Seoul as the venue for the second inter-Korean summit." And former president Kim Dae-jung, who held the historic first inter-Korean summit with Kim Jong-il, said, "I welcome it very much," when he was told by presidential chief of staff Moon Jae-in about it around 8 a.m. on Wednesday.