South Koreans greet summit with hope, scepticism

SEOUL, Aug 8 (Reuters) South Koreans hope a summit with the North announced today will ease tension with their troublesome neighbour but worry it may just be a political ploy to boost the fortunes of its floundering president.

The leaders of North and South Korea said they will meet August 28-30 in the North Korean capital Pyongyang in only the second summit between the two countries and their first in seven years.

''The first thing coming to my mind is that the summit is politically driven ahead of the December presidential election,'' said Kim Chol-yong, 31, a company worker.

Analysts suggested unpopular South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun may have arranged for the summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to help his fellow liberals in the election.

The two top conservative candidates have a combined support rate of over 60 per cent while the top two liberal candidates are at about 4 per cent each.

''I have high expectations for the summit but am doubtful whether any meaningful results would come out,'' Kim said.

The Roh government has been criticised by the public for giving too much aid to impoverished North Korea despite it stirring up security concerns with missile launches and its first nuclear test last October.

''There is no point to keep giving aid to North Korea and getting nothing in return,'' said Kim In-sook, 53, a housewife.

The last summit in 2000 was tarnished when the administration of then President Kim Dae-jung was suspected of sending hundreds of millions of dollars to the North to secure the meeting.

''I had high hopes that the first inter-Korean summit would bring meaningful changes, but seven years on, North Korea hasn't really changed much,'' said Lee Hyun-ji, 21, a university student.

The summit comes as North Korea has made its most significant moves in years to roll back its nuclear arms programme when last month it shut its reactor and source of weapons-grade plutonium as a part of a six-way disarmament-for-aid deal.

''The summit could be a stepping stone for the unification of the two Koreas, said Kim Yeon-hee, 43, a housewife.

REUTERS SG KP1047