DATE=7/30/2000 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=KOREA - MEETINGS (L-ONLY) NUMBER=2-264932 BYLINE=HYUN-SUNG KHANG DATELINE=SEOUL CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: North and South Korea have agreed to hold regular high-level discussions and have proposed reopening their suspended border liaison offices, following talks in the South Korean capital. The cabinet-level discussions are being held to implement agreements reached after last month's summit between the leaders of the two Koreas. Hyun-Sung Khang reports from the South Korean capital, Seoul TEXT: The annoucement of progress, followed a morning of discussions between the visiting five-member North Korean delegation and their South Korean counterparts. As well as agreeing to hold regular high-level contacts, it's proposed the two sides reopen liaison offices in the border town of Panmunjom. The offices were orginally opened in 1992, but closed four years later as relations between the two Koreas deteriorated. According to a South Korean delegate at the talks, the two sides have also agreed to designate a national reconciliation week around August 15th, the date of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule. During the week, celebrations will be held to mark the inter-Korean summit between the leaders of the two Koreas. A reunion of 200 separated family members is also planned as part of the celebrations. A South Korean delegate, said the talks started amid a very friendly atmosphere, unparalleled in the past. Delegates from both sides pledged to uphold the spirit of the historic inter-Korea summit and make efforts to bring a lasting thaw to the divided Korean peninsula. To avoid political friction, no flags or other national emblems were used for the talks. The five-member delegation from North Korea and their South Korean counterparts are also expected to discuss the proposed visit to the SOuth by North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Il; as well as military, economic and social exchanges. This is the first time in eight years that senior- level North Korean envoys have visited the South. Technically the two Koreas remain in a state of war as their civil conflict of 1950-1953 ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty. But this visit by the North Korean delegation comes as Pyongyang shows increasing signs of wanting to engage with the international community. (Signed) NEB/HSK/PLM 30-Jul-2000 05:22 AM EDT (30-Jul-2000 0922 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .
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