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ROK Unification Minister meets senior DPRK official

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-08-22 10:58

SEOUL: Top officials in charge of inter-Korean relations from the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) are meeting for the first time in nearly two years amid a series of conciliatory moves by Pyongyang after months of tensions on the divided peninsula.

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Government spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo says Unification Minister Hyun In-taek is meeting Saturday with visiting DPRK official Kim Yang-gon who handles inter-Korean affairs.

The last time officials responsible for inter-Korean affairs met was in October 2007.

The rare talks come a day after Kim and five other senior DPRK officials flew to Seoul to pay their respects to the late Kim Dae-jung. Kim was a former ROK president beloved on both sides of the border for his pursuit of closer ties between the divided states.