By Lee Chang-sup Staff Reporter

SEOUL?orth Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s schedule for visiting South Korea will be fixed in February, according to a government official.

"The South and North will finalize the National Defense Commission chairman’s return visit to South Korea next month," said the official on condition of anonymity on Jan. 25.

He indicated Kim Jong-il will visit the South, probably around November. ``As far as I know, the two leaders are quite busy in September and October,’’ he said.

The North Korean leader’s schedule is expected to be fixed when Kim Yong-sun, chairman of the Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, visits Seoul next month.

It is still unclear, however, whether the second inter-Korean summit will take place in Seoul or another location in the South.
In his recent meeting with the heads of South Korean media organizations in Pyongyang, the North Korean leader said his deputies have been preparing for a program for his planned visit to the South. He told them he will visit the South but has yet to specify the timing of the event.

The North Korean leader said he hoped to pay homage at the tomb of his great-grandfather, located in the southwestern city of Chonju.