President Roh Moo-hyun and his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-il will meet on October 2-4 in Pyongyang for the second-ever summit between the countries' leaders. The first was held in 2000.
After the 1950-53 war, in which North Korea, supported by China and the Soviet Union, fought South Korea, backed primarily by the United States, the sides declared a ceasefire but did not sign a peace treaty, meaning that they remain technically at war.
Yonhap quoted Roh as saying: "The declaration of the end of the Korean War and a peace treaty are the core agenda items of the inter-Korean summit talks."
The announcement follows the president's visit to Sydney for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, attended by the leaders of 21 Pacific Rim countries, including the United States, Russia, and China.
At the weekend summit, Roh asked President George W. Bush whether he would back a peace declaration with North Korea. The U.S. leader insisted that his country would not sign a treaty with Pyongyang until Kim Jong-il "gets rid of his [nuclear] weapons in a verifiable fashion."
However, the South Korean leader was quoted by Yonhap as saying a peace accord was the priority, and that the process of North Korea's denuclearization is already underway.
"Many people emphasize the importance of North Korea's denuclearization. Objectively speaking, the nuclear issue is in the midst of being resolved at the six-party talks. More important is the next stage, or the establishment of peace," the president said.
