Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung says a year-end visit to Seoul by North Korean parliamentary leader Kim Yong-nam is unlikely.

In a phone interview with a radio program Monday, Lee said last week's inter-Korean prime ministerial talks did not discuss Kim's reciprocal visit nor was it even on the agenda.

Asked if the proposed three- or four-country declaration to formally end the Korean War could come before North Korea's nuclear dismantlement, Lee hinted that it would, saying a declaration would promote disablement.

But on the declaration's timing, he said it would be the first part of next year at the earliest.