A South Korean delegation arrived in Pyongyang Tuesday afternoon
to resume the frozen inter-Korean ministerial meetings.
The delegation, led by South Korean Unification Minister Lee
Jae-joung, was greeted by officials of North Korea at the
airport.
The resumed Cabinet-level meetings the highest channel of
dialogue between the Koreas are the first concrete sign of eased
tensions on the divided peninsula since Pyongyang's February 13
agreement at international arms talks to shut down its main nuclear
reactor within 60 days.
The high-level talks were last held in July, when the South
refused to continue aid to the North after it test-fired a series
of missiles. The countries' relations further soured after the
North tested a nuclear weapon in October.
Lee said the South delegation were to have an official dinner
with the North's officials before the formal start of talks
today.
At this week's talks, the two sides will discuss how to
cooperate in implementing the February 13 agreement, Lee added
before his departure for the talks that run through Friday.
The February 13 agreement calls for a separate forum on bringing
peace to the Korean Peninsula, which has remained technically in a
state of war since the 1953 cease-fire that ended the Korean
War.
"We will try to restore the framework of South-North dialogue
and discuss various issues needed for establishing peace on the
Korean Peninsula through dialogue," Lee said.
This week's talks are also expected to discuss restoring the
South's humanitarian aid of rice and fertilizer to the North, and
resuming reunions of families split by the border. The reunions
have been on hold since aid was suspended last year.
Another key issue in this week's meetings, the 20th such
Cabinet-level talks, will be whether the North allows a test run of
trains on rebuilt tracks through the heavily armed frontier
dividing the peninsula. A planned test run was put off last year
because North Korean military said proper security arrangements had
not been made.
(China Daily via agencies February 28, 2007)
