WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's point man on North Korea policy said his government is planning to set up a fund as early as this year to start raising 55 trillion won ($49.4 billion) to help pay for its eventual reunification with the North.

"Government agencies are near an agreement over the unification account and I hope lawmakers will pass legislation within this year," Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik said in an interview with Bloomberg News published on Tuesday. "This will unite people and foster their desire for unification."

Yu, who took the post in September with a "flexible" approach to North Korea, said the fund would be raised by both government budgets and private donations.

The size of the proposed fund would meet the minimum cost of reunification with North Korea, Yu said.

In August, a ministry-affiliate research institute expected costs for reunification to reach as high as 249 trillion won.

Yu's appointment has raised guarded optimism that Seoul could try to improve relations with Pyongyang.

Following North Korea's two deadly military attacks on the South last year, which killed a total of 50 South Koreans, Seoul cut government aid to Pyongyang.

The two Koreas are still technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended with a cease-fire. Reunification with North Korea at this point seems very distant, but President Lee Myung-bak has called for the need to prepare for the eventual process with North Korea.

In the interview, Yu said the near-term likelihood of a summit between Lee and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is low.

"A summit between the leaders of the two Koreas would be a very strong and effective event," Yu said. "But we don't have any specific plan for it at the moment because it's hard to see any tangible or substantial results."