Civic groups mull summit anniversary ceremony with North Korea

The head of a coalition of about 200 South Korean civic groups said Thursday that he is considering holding a joint ceremony with North Korea in the coming months to mark the first inter-Korean summit. The leaders of the two Koreas produced a joint declaration at their landmark summit in June 2000 that paved the way for eased military tensions and economic cooperation after decades of hostility. The two sides had alternated hosting joint celebrations of the summit in the past but the joint anniversary events were suspended in recent years as tensions rose. Hong Sa-duck, who leads the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation (KCRC) in Seoul, said he will consider holding a joint ceremony with his North Korean counterpart to commemorate the summit on June 15. Hong also said in prepared remarks at the KCRC's key meeting tht his coalition should consider holding a ceremony with North Korea to mark a joint communique of July 4, 1972 in which the two divided Koreas agreed to achieve the peaceful reunification of the peninsula. Still, a coalition official said no discussions with North Korea have taken place. In 2007, the leaders of the two Koreas also held a summit and produced a deal calling for massive South Korean investment in the North's key industrial sectors, including shipbuilding. North Korea has routinely pressed South Korea to honor agreements reached at two previous summits in 2000 and 2007. The deals have been in limbo due to lingering tensions between the two Koreas.