A top government official has stressed the need for the two Koreas to realize a significant project next year to mark the 60th anniversary of the nation's liberation from Japan's colonial rule and the fifth anniversary of the first-ever inter-Korean summit.

Deputy Unification Minister Lee Bong-jo made the comments in a lecture with civic group officials Thursday. Lee's remarks were interpreted by some as expressing the government's willingness to pursue an inter-Korean summit in the first half of next year when the new U.S. administration will likely be coordinating its policies toward the Korean Peninsula.

Lee also said the two Koreas should begin discussions next month to arrange what he called a significant inter-Korean project, hinting at the possibility of Seoul sending a special envoy to the North.

But the top official later backed away from his remarks, cautioning the media to avoid making unwarranted speculation that the government is trying to arrange an inter-Korean summit.

He said his remarks merely meant that the government would work to find a breakthrough in the deadlock in South-North relations by promoting diverse events to mark the anniversary of the two landmark events in the nation's modern history.