Korean PMs ready for Seoul talks
November 15, 2007 - 0:0
North Korean Prime Minister Kim Yong-il has arrived in the South Korean capital, Seoul, for three days of talks with counterpart Han Duck-soo.
It is the first such meeting since 1992 and the highest-level visit by a North Korean official for 15 years.The talks are expected to focus primarily on joint economic projects and a sea border dispute.
The meeting follows October's historic summit in Pyongyang between leaders of the two Koreas.
The summit, between the North's Kim Jong-il and the South's Roh Moo-Hyun, was only the second such meeting since the Korean peninsula was partitioned over half a century ago.
--------------------------- Warming relations
At the summit, the two presidents signed an accord calling for greater peace and economic partnership between the two countries, which remain technically at war.
The prime ministers will now use their meeting to discuss more specific proposals.
One key issue is the establishment of a joint fishing area around the disputed western sea border -- the scene of naval clashes in the past -- and a new economic zone around the North Korean port of Haeju.
Other matters include management of a joint industrial zone in the border city of Kaesong and increasing the number of reunion meetings for separated families.
Prime ministerial meetings between the two Koreas were suspended in 1992 amid growing concern over Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.
But in February, North Korea agreed to end its nuclear program in return for aid. It is currently in the process of disabling its main reactor at Yongbyon.
The BBC's Daniel Griffiths in Seoul says the meeting between the prime ministers is another sign of warming relations between North and South Korea.
But he says the mood could change in December if the South Korean presidential election is won by conservative Lee Myung-Bak, who has pledged to take a tougher line against North Korea.
(Source: BBC)