By Xinhua
Seoul : Kim Yong-il, prime minister of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), arrived in Seoul of South Korea on Wednesday to participate in the inter-Korean prime ministerial talks.
“We will make all our efforts to seek good outcomes through the prime ministerial talks and to reach agreements on the implementation of the inter-Korean joint declaration adopted on Oct.4,” said Kim in a statement released at Seoul’s Gimpo International Airport.
“The whole nation is expecting an immediate implementation of the declaration,” he said.
Kim arrived at the airport at 11 a.m. (0200 GMT) by a direct flight by DPRK’s Air Koryo. South Korean Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung greeted the 43-member DPRK delegation led by Kim at the airport and accompanied Kim to move to the Sheraton Grande Walker hill hotel, where the three-day talks will be held.
Kim met with his South Korean counterpart Han Duck-soo after arriving at the hotel. The two prime ministers will hold a plenary meeting at 16:00 p.m. (0700 GMT) and then participate in a welcome dinner host by Han, South Korean government said.
South Korean officials said the two prime ministers will focus on follow-up measures to agreements reached at October’s inter-Korean summit during their three-day talks, such as detailed measures for inter-Korean economic cooperation.
It was the first time that South Korea and the DPRK held their prime ministerial talks since 1992.
On Oct. 4, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and DPRK top leader Kim Jong-il signed on the Declaration for the Development of Inter-Korean Relations, Peace and Prosperity in Pyongyang. The eight-point declaration calls for ending military hostility between the two sides, a permanent peace treaty on the Korean Peninsula as well as closer bilateral economic cooperations.
It was the first inter-Korean prime ministerial talks since 1992.