The 21st inter-Korean ministerial talks opened at the Grand Hilton Hotel in Seoul on Tuesday, three months after the last one in Pyongyang. A bumpy road is expected for the four-day meeting, since North Korea is likely to complain about South Korea¡¯s recent decision to postpone rice aid to the North, following Pyongyang¡¯s failure to implement a February denuclearization agreement. The North Korean delegation, led by Chief Cabinet Councilor Kwon Ho-ung arrived in Seoul Tuesday afternoon.
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North Korean Chief Cabinet Counselor Kwon Ho-ung receives welcoming flowers while arriving at Incheon International Airport via Air Koryo on Tuesday. Counselor Kwon is in South Korea for ministerial-level bilateral talks. /Yonhap
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In a speech, Kwon stressed ¡°cooperation between the two Koreas.¡± Although he did not directly mention the rice aid, Kwon said ¡°internal affairs¡± of Korea should be discussed and resolved only between the two Koreas in a way to boost the national interest. He used the phrase ¡°between the two Koreas¡± four times in the speech. Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung said it was ¡°natural¡± for Kwon to emphasize the point since North Korea sees inter-Korean meetings from the context of cooperation and would have to insist on that aspect given the hiccups in implementing the February six-nation agreement.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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