BREAKING NEWS

Reports: N. Korea's Kim wants summit with S. Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has sent word that he wants to hold a summit with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in the latest sign of easing tensions between the divided nations, news reports said Monday. Kim's envoy proposed the summit during a rare meeting Sunday, and Lee told the envoy that he would be open to a summit if it is discuss North Korea's nuclear program, the South's mass-circulation Chosun Ilbo daily reported, citing an unidentified government official. Another leading newspaper, the JoongAng Ilbo, carried a similar report. However, the South's presidential Blue House denied the reports, saying that Lee and the North's envoy had general discussions on improving relations between the two sides, but that nothing related to a summit was mentioned.