National Intelligence Service (NIS) director-nominee Suh Hoon told a parliamentary confirmation hearing that he talked with Moon, when Moon was a presidential candidate, about the need for an inter-Korean summit meeting.
Though they failed to discuss details, they agreed on the need for such a meeting, Suh said.
Moon was sworn in as president on May 10 after winning a landslide victory in the presidential by-election.
Right after his inauguration, Moon named Suh as NIS director, together with the appointments of the presidential chief of staff and the prime minister.
Suh, 63, is known to have played a key role in preparing for the past two inter-Korean summit meetings that were held in June 2000 and October 2007.
He entered the NIS in 1980 and served as a deputy NIS director from 2006 to 2008 under the late President Roh Moo-hyun.
President Moon was widely forecast to inherit the so-called "Sunshine Policy" of seeking to improve relations with the DPRK through economic cooperation.
However, Moon said he would sternly deal with any DPRK provocations.
The DPRK test-launched at least one ballistic missile, which was believed to be of a Scud type, early Monday from the country's east coast, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
The South Korean government strongly denounced the DPRK's missile test-firing as it violates UN Security Council resolutions, urging Pyongyang to immediately stop any further provocations.
This story was first published in the Global Times.
