South Korea on Monday accepted a proposal put forward by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on holding a new round of the inter-Korean ministerial meeting in late April, according to the South Korean Unification Ministry.
The DPRK on Saturday delivered a telephone message to South Korea, suggesting resumption of the 10th Inter-Korean Ministerial Meeting on April 27-29 in Pyongyang.
Responding to such a proposal, head of the South Korean delegation Jeong Se-hyun notified his DPRK counterpart Kim Ryong Song, who had led the DPRK team in previous two inter-Korean ministerial meetings, of South Korea's acceptance via a telephone message earlier Monday, South Korean national news agency Yonhap News quoted a spokesman for the Unification Ministry as reporting.
The 10th Inter-Korean Ministerial Meeting failed to be held on its slated date of April 7-10, because the DPRK side did not give its response to the South Korean proposal of discussing the agenda and details of the ministerial talks.
The forthcoming inter-Korean cabinet-level talks will be the first high level contact between the two sides on the Korean Peninsula since South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun took office in late February.
The Ninth Inter-Korean Ministerial Meeting was held on Jan. 21-24 in Seoul.
(Xinhua News Agency April 21, 2003)
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