Former President Kim Dae-jung says he believes South and North Korea will ultimately hold a summit during the Roh Moo-hyun administration.

In a special interview with Voice of America coinciding with the seventh anniversary of the June 15th, 2000 inter-Korean summit, Kim said that a summit should be held during Roh's tenure to lay the groundwork for the next government.

The former president stressed that such a meeting should come before August 15th, adding that a summit would reduce tension on the Korean Peninsula and provide the North with more economic opportunities.

Kim also said that Pyongyang will have to abandon its nukes in order to survive, predicting that the North will ultimately dismantle its nuclear program in line with the February 13th six-party agreement.