A former South Korean intelligence chief says North Korean leader Kim Jong-il had planned to make a return visit to Seoul in the spring of 2001, but ultimately decided against it.

Former director of the National Intelligence Service Lim Dong-won made the remarks while responding to questions from reporters on the possibility of Kim visiting South Korea.

Attending a unification forum in Seoul, Lim quoted the North Korean leader as saying said he could not come to Seoul in that year when the new U.S. administration, led by President George W. Bush, had allegedly tried to stifle North Korea.

Lim met with Kim in April 2002 when he visited Pyongyang as a presidential envoy.

At the historic inter-Korean summit in 2000, the North Korean leader had promised then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung that he would make a reciprocal visit to Seoul at an appropriate time, but has since failed to fulfill the promise.