Chung Dong-yong, unification minister of the Republic of Korea (ROK), said on Sunday although the inter-Korean high level talks were canceled earlier this month, the ties between the ROK and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) are not strained.  

"Despite the halt of governmental talks, inter-Korean economic cooperation programs continue, and the suspension is not developing into tension, as we observed the joint march by the two country' athletes in the Athens Olympics," Chung Dong-yong was quoted by Yonhap News Agency as saying.

Early August, the DPRK canceled inter-Korean ministerial talks scheduled for Aug. 3-6 in an apparent protest over matters including Seoul's refusal to let some of its citizens visit Pyongyang for the 10th anniversary of the death of the DPRK's founding leader Kim Il Sung.

Moreover, Chung reiterated Seoul's willingness to provide massive aid package to Pyongyang in return for a freeze in its nuclear program.

"We are making preparations to upgrade inter-Korean economic cooperation, including the expansion of related funds and legislation to push for further development of the inter-Korean relationship," he said. "They will be implemented after the DPRK renounces its nuclear ambition."

Chung's remarks came after ROK President Roh Moo-hyun said earlier in the day that extensive and concrete measures to assist the DPRK are already being established, calling for a decisive step from Pyongyang toward solving the nuclear issue.

(Xinhua News Agency August 16, 2004)