North Korean Delegation Arrives in Seoul for Talks

May 29, 04:40 AM

Current Headlines: Excerpt from report in English by South Korean news agency Yonhap

SEOUL, March 29 (Yonhap) - South and North Korea will hold a new round of high-level talks later Tuesday, with Seoul hoping to keep up the momentum of renewed reconciliation following the historic test run of trains across the inter-Korean border.

The five-member North Korean negotiation team, led by Kwon Ho- ung, chief councillor of the Cabinet, arrived here on a direct charter flight from Pyongyang to attend the four-day meeting at the Grand Hilton Hotel. The talks are the 21st since the first-ever summit of the leaders of the two Koreas, which was held in Pyongyang in June 2000.

Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung, Kwon's South Korean counterpart, is to host a welcoming dinner for the North Korean delegation Tuesday evening. The welcoming dinners at previous talks in the South were hosted by the country's prime minister, but the two sides agreed to reduce the number of guests and simplify the procedure, South Korean officials said.

"It is not a problem of 'yes' or 'no.' (The rice shipment) is simply being delayed," Lee said in a brief meeting with reporters before he attended a Cabinet meeting. "I don't think North Korea will protest the delay during the talks." [passage omitted]

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