Two Koreas plan to resume ministerial talks
Posted: 14 February 2007 1159 hrs

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SEOUL : South and North Korea announced Wednesday they plan to resume ministerial talks suspended since last July, with Seoul saying a resumption of aid to Pyongyang would be on the agenda.

The announcement came a day after the North agreed during multinational talks in Beijing to disable its nuclear programme in return for energy aid.

"The North and South agreed to hold a meeting of representatives on February 15 at Kaesong to discuss holding the 20th ministerial talks," said the spokesman for the South's unification ministry, Yang Chang-Seok.

Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency confirmed the two Koreas had agreed to resume the ministerial meetings, currently the highest level of dialogue between the former Cold War rivals.

Kaesong is just north of the heavily fortified border.

The South on Monday proposed the resumption of the ministerial talks and the North responded positively on Tuesday, said spokesman Yang. - AFP/ch