Inter-Korean Ministerial Talks to Start in Pyongyang
2003-10-14
The 12th Inter-Korean Ministerial Talks will open in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, on Tuesday (Oct. 14) for a four-day discussion over ways to defuse the row involving the North's nuclear program.
A South Korean delegation headed by Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun is scheduled to board a direct flight bound for the North Korean capital.
They are then to attend a welcome dinner to be hosted by the North Korean delegation, headed by Kim Ryong-song, senior cabinet councilor. A plenary session is set to begin on Wednesday.
Seoul officials said they hope the talks will provide impetus to realize the second round of six-way talks on the nuclear issue by getting a promise from Pyongyang to return to the multilateral dialogue which also involves the United States, Russia, China and Japan.
North Korea recently darkened prospects for a timely resumption of six-way talks by making claims regarding its ability to produce nuclear weaponry with plutonium and demanding Japan be left out of future talks.
Although the statements were taken with a grain of salt by the other parties involved in the talks, officials said they feel a tremendous responsibility to produce positive results from continued dialogue.
“We will urge the North to show a more sincere and flexible attitude for a swift resumption of the nuclear problem,” Jeong said earlier on Friday.
“At the same time, we will check and repair the weak points in overall inter-Korean relations, so that they will develop healthily,” he also said.
The two Koreas will also discuss initiating more social and cultural exchanges, and also tackle the three major economic cooperative projects including construction of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in the North.
Humanitarian issues such as scheduling an additional round of family reunions and building a center for separated families of the two Koreas will also be discussed.
North Korea is expected to ask the South for fertilizer assistance in time for the autumn season.
The ministerial talks are the highest-level dialogue channel the two Koreas have on a normal basis. North Korea at the 11th meeting in Seoul this July indicated it may accept further multilateral dialogue on the nuclear crisis, paving the way for realization of the six-way talks in August.
Vice Finance-Economy Minister Kim Gwang-lim, Vice Culture-Tourism Minister Oh Jee-chul, Deputy Unification Minister for Policy Shin Eon-sang are also included in Seoul's entourage.
North Korea has replaced Choe Young-kon, vice minister of Construction and Building-Materials Industries, with Jo Song-bal of the Cabinet secretariat on its delegation.
Source : www.korea.net
