The chairwoman of the opposition Grand National Party, Park Geun-hye, says she would support a summit between President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

In an interview with Japan's Mainichi Shimbun newspaer Friday, Park also offered to visit Pyongyang as a special envoy to help arrange the South-North summit.

The reports quoted her as saying that she would do whatever she could for peace on the Korean Peninsula, including a role in seeking a peaceful solution to the North Korean nuclear issue.

Park also suggested the creation of a special bipartisan committee aimed at improving ties between the two Koreas.

Park's comments are seen as a significant turnaround in the stance of the GNP, which, in the past, has generally been critical of Seoul's policies of engagement and reconciliation with the North.