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North and South Korea hold talks | North and South Korea hold talks |
(about 3 hours later) | |
The first meeting between North and South Korean officials in nearly two years has taken place unexpectedly in the South Korean capital Seoul. | The first meeting between North and South Korean officials in nearly two years has taken place unexpectedly in the South Korean capital Seoul. |
A spy chief said to be close to the North's leader Kim Jong-il met Seoul's Unification Minister Hyun In-taek. | A spy chief said to be close to the North's leader Kim Jong-il met Seoul's Unification Minister Hyun In-taek. |
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak was considering meeting the Northern delegates, who have said they want better relations on the peninsula. | |
They were in Seoul to pay respects to late ex-President Kim Dae-jung. | |
The Northern official in charge of inter-Korean relations, Kim Yang-gon, said there was an urgent need to improve the frosty relations between the two countries. | |
"After meeting with several people [in the South], I felt the imperative need for North-South relations to improve," Mr Kim said ahead of his talks with Mr Hyun. | |
President Lee's office said he was being briefed by Mr Hyun on the meeting with the delegation and was considering a meeting with them. | |
Conciliatory gestures | |
Saturday's meeting is the first between officials from the two Koreas since the conservative Mr Lee came to power in Seoul in February 2008. | |
Relations soured when Mr Lee made South Korean aid conditional on North Korea's nuclear disarmament. | |
In the past few months, North Korea has fired a long range rocket over Japanese territory and conducted an underground nuclear test. | |
But more recently, there has been a series of conciliatory gestures. Two US reporters and a South Korean worker were released from detention and Pyongyang said it was interested in resuming cross-border tourism and industrial projects. | |
Some observers believe that, with UN sanctions beginning to bite, the North is keen to boost cross-border tourism and trade that bring in badly needed foreign currency, our correspondent adds. | Some observers believe that, with UN sanctions beginning to bite, the North is keen to boost cross-border tourism and trade that bring in badly needed foreign currency, our correspondent adds. |
On Friday, the six officials from North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, wearing black suits and ties, placed a wreath of flowers on the steps of South Korea's National Assembly, where Kim Dae-jung is lying in state. | On Friday, the six officials from North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, wearing black suits and ties, placed a wreath of flowers on the steps of South Korea's National Assembly, where Kim Dae-jung is lying in state. |
Mr Kim - who died on Tuesday at the age of 85 - devoted his presidency to improving relations between the two Koreas, still technically at war. | Mr Kim - who died on Tuesday at the age of 85 - devoted his presidency to improving relations between the two Koreas, still technically at war. |
He reached out to the North with aid - the main thrust of his "Sunshine Policy" that earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000, and held a historic summit with Kim Jong-Il in that year. | He reached out to the North with aid - the main thrust of his "Sunshine Policy" that earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000, and held a historic summit with Kim Jong-Il in that year. |
Mr Kim's funeral is to be held on Sunday. |