Vice Unification Minister Hong Yang-ho said Friday the government does not completely refuse or follow inter-Korean summit declarations signed by its predecessors.

He told a reunification education forum that the Lee Myung-bak administration hopes to discuss which one to implement first among agreements made in past summit declarations.

He noted that the most important part of the June 15th, 2000 Joint Declaration is North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's visit to Seoul. The official added that if Kim takes the courage to visit South Korea, inter-Korean relations would see further progress.

Commenting on North Korea's food crisis, Hong said that without outside assistance, the communist country would be in a dire situation by September or October.

The official said Seoul has offered to provide Pyongyang with 50-thousand tons of corn, but the North has not yet responded.