Unification Minister Lee Jae-jeong has said that another inter-Korean summit should be held soon, given that the previous one brought peace to the Korean Peninsula and resolved several issues. He made the remarks in an interview with broadcaster MBC.

He dismissed concerns that the government intends to use an inter-Korean summit to boost the ruling party’s approval rating ahead of the presidential election slated for December this year. He admitted that a change in inter-Korean relations could affect the presidential election but that a summit should be held in consideration of the nation's future, and not political consequences.

According to the unification minister, humanitarian aid to North Korea should be resumed only with justifiable reasons that the people and the international community can both accept. He said that a turning point is needed in order for aid to resume, whether it is the six party nuclear talks, another inter-Korean summit, or the institutionalization of aid.