The delegation of Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to the inter-Korean high-level talks arrived at the Incheon International Airport, the Republic of Korea (ROK), on Tuesday afternoon.  

The five-member DPRK delegation, led by Kim Ryong Song, a cabinet councilor, will hold discussions with a ROK team headed by Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun in the four-day meeting beginning Tuesday, according to a local TV report.

The ROK side will hold a brief greeting session and a banquet later Tuesday for the DPRK negotiators. The two sides are expected to hold two plenary sessions before ending the talks on Friday.

The four-day inter-ministerial meeting, the 13th since the historic inter-Korean summit in 2000, is the highest channel of dialogue between the two countries.

Jeong Se-hyun indicated last week that the ROK would use this week's meeting to try to persuade the DPRK to scrape its nuclear program.

During the talks, delegates of the two sides are also likely to review the progress of major inter-Korean projects underway.

The ongoing projects include sightseeing tours to the DPRK's scenic Mount Geumgang, the re-linking of cross-border railways and roads and the construction of a joint industrial park in the DPRK border city of Kaesong. 

(Xinhua News Agency February 3, 2004)