A center for news media covering next week's inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang will be set up in the Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul, operating around the clock from Monday to Thursday.

The Government Information Agency said Thursday that the center, which will be equipped with a joint briefing room and broadcast facilities, will provide domestic and foreign media outlets with rapid access to images and stories sent from the press corps in Pyongyang.

More than one-thousand reporters from about 180 media outlets have applied to use the Seoul center.

Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung is scheduled to visit the new center Monday afternoon to hold a news briefing on summit preparations.

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