The 35-member advance team was expected to arrange details of the summit venue, itinerary and accommodations for the South Korean delegation.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun is to meet the North's leader Kim Jong Il on Oct. 2-4 in Pyongyang, the second-ever summit between the rival Koreas. They held their first summit in 2000.

"We will hold prior inspections thoroughly to ensure that the summit proceeds smoothly," advance team chief Lee Kwan-se told reporters before heading for the North. He said he expected good cooperation from North Korean officials.

The team was set to return Friday. South Korea plans to send a second team to the North next Thursday, according to the ministry.

Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung told reporters that if North Korea asks the South's summit delegation to watch one of the North's massive propaganda spectacles, Seoul would consider such an offer.

"There is no reason not to consider the proposal" if South Korea receives it from the North, presidential spokesman Cheon Ho-seon told reporters.

These shows typically feature thousands of gymnasts in synchronized maneuvers, and giant mosaics formed by children turning pieces of colored paper. The themes center on the North's nationalist ideology and its late founding leader Kim Il Sung, father of the North's current leader.

Last month, the North suspended the performances, referred to as "mass games," citing devastating floods that have left at least 600 people dead or missing and destroyed large areas of farmland.

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