North Korea oil exploration still an idea - Seoul

By Yoo Choonsik

SEOUL, Oct 8 (Reuters) - South Korea has no firm data on any oil reserves in North Korea and it is far too soon to talk about joint exploration in the reclusive state, officials in Seoul said on Monday.

Officials from the two Koreas discussed possible cooperation in looking for oil in the North when South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun visited Pyongyang last week for the second only summit meeting between Korean leaders.

"I understand the discussion was about an idea rather than a concrete plan," said an oil development official at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE).

"The government doesn't have any official data showing whether North Korea has oil, so it is too early for us to call it a plan," said the official, who declined to be named.

Finance Minister Kwon O-kyu, who represented the South's economic ministries during the Oct. 2-4 summit, told YTN cable news channel late last week that Roh and North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, had expressed interest in the idea.

"We didn't insist that the joint statement include the issue because there were already many projects to mention, but the two leaders clearly expressed their interest," Kwon said.

Neither Koreas produce oil.

South Korea is the world's fourth-biggest crude oil buyer and relies wholly on imports to feed its energy-hungry economy, the world's 13th-largest.