The South Korean government said Friday it plans to hold a senior-level official meeting with North Korea this month in a bid to pave the way for the third inter-Korean summit to be held at the southern side of a cross-border village in April.

The Presidential Preparation Committee for the Inter-Korean Talks said the summit would focus on removing nuclear weapons from North Korea, easing military tensions between the two Koreas and establishing permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.

“We affirmed that the summit must become a turning point for us to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula once and for all,” said presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok, who chairs the preparation committee.

“For that purpose, we decided to focus on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of permanent peace, including measures to reduce military tensions and other agenda to make progress in inter-Korean relations.”

Im added it would be necessary for South Korea and the US to hold a summit after President Moon Jae-in’s meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un -- a measure that Im said would help both Washington and Pyongyang narrow gaps before the planned summit to be held by May.

“Of course, we can’t decide when the US-North Korea summit should take place after the inter-Korean summit. I think it would be nice to have a South Korea- US summit in between even if it only involves working-level issues.”

In order to set the mood for peace, South Korea will send a taekwondo demonstration team and an art troupe to Pyongyang, which had been agreed upon with North Korea when the South Korean special envoys visited Pyeongyang to meet the North’s leader Kim.

Im said the summit would be a one-day affair as the meeting will take place at a neutral zone between the two Koreas. The summit will take place at Peace House, a building inside the truce village of Panmunjeom located in the heavily fortified demilitarized zone.

The presidential top aide pinned hopes that the Panmunjeom summit would become a regular event between the two countries. The previous 2000 and 2007 inter-Korean summits took place in Pyongyang and the meetings lasted for three days.

“If we make thorough preparations, I expect the Panmunjeom meeting will be another formula for inter-Korea summits. … In terms of security issues, it is actually much more efficient than crossing borders to visit each other’s country.”

In an effort to incorporate public opinion into the much-anticipated summit, the committee said it would launch an advisory group comprising of some 30-40 people, with former Unification Minister Lim Dong-won heading the group.

By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)