고위당국자 "4차 남북정상회담, 실질적 추진 바람직... 2차처럼 하면 특사•고위급회담 필요없어"

A senior South Korean government official says... the next inter-Korean summit will focus on substance rather than formality,... to lay the groundwork for another Pyeongyang-Washington summit.
The high-level source also says the U.S. is reviewing options at a working-level... to resume negotiations with North Korea.
Oh Jung-hee at the unification ministry with more.
A high-level South Korean government official says... if South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un were to hold a fourth summit, it would be simple like the second one held in May last year.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, this official said... the next inter-Korean summit's goal would be to lay the groundwork for another Pyeongyang-Washington summit.
To do that, the summit should focus on substance rather than formality... and therefore, doesn't require special envoys or high-level talks.
Meanwhile, the official said the U.S. is reviewing options at a working-level to restart negotiations with North Korea.
When U.S. Special Representative for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, visited Seoul earlier this month,... the South Korean government could see Washington was preparing (quote)"a variety of things" to narrow differences with the North.
South Korea's Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul echoed the remark at a press conference on Tuesday.
"Seoul and Washington are making various efforts to resume negotiations with the North. South Korea and the U.S. agree that now is the time to manage the situation and are exchanging various opinions to restart talks."
However, it seems communication between South and North Korea isn't going smoothly.
The North's minister of the joint liaison office has been absent for almost three months since the Hanoi summit... and the government official says... situations aren't much different behind the scenes.
Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News.