North and South Korea held secret meetings last month

In November, South and North Korea held two rounds of secret meetings about a possible summit but failed to agree on key points. They included repatriation of South Korean prisoners of war and abduction victims, food aid and the North Korean nuclear issue.

Prior to this, the two sides stated their positions in a meeting held in Singapore in mid-October.

Seoul offered resumption of more than 100,000 tons of food aid in return for the repatriation of South Korean POWs and abductees, but the North Koreans denied it is holding any.

Seoul also insisted on discussing the North Korean nuclear issue during any inter-Korean summit, while Pyongyang insisted that the issue should be solved between it and the U.S.

Chosun Ilbo