In the first plenary of the Ninth Inter-Korean Ministerial Meeting held earlier Wednesday, South Korean delegation delivered global concerns about the nuclear issue, and called upon the DPRK to take concrete measure to have dialogue with the United States.

"We made it clear that the consequences of the nuclear issue will lay negative influence to the inter-Korean relationship in the long run if it is not dealt with at the earliest date," said Rhee Bong-jo, the spokesman of the South Korean part for the talks,in a briefing after the plenary.

South Korean chief negotiator Jeong Se-hyun, who is also the country's Unification Minister, reiterated his government stance of opposition to the DPRK's development of nuclear weapons, but adding the nuclear issue should be addressed peacefully through dialogue, Rhee said.

But according to Rhee, the DPRK delegation headed by Kim Ryong Song repeated that the nuclear issue should be discussed between Pyongyang and Washington, not between South Korea and the DPRK.

Kim also stressed the importance of fulfilling the joint declaration made at the 2000 South-North summit between Kim Dae-jung and Kim Sung Il.

Apart from the nuclear issue, the reconstruction of inter-Korean railways and roads across the demilitarized zone (DMZ) and steps to fulfill series of agreements on the development of a DPRK special industrial zone in Kaesong and safety in maritime navigation, and travel and cargo shipments are also included in the agenda.

The five DPRK negotiators arrived in Seoul on Tuesday at Incheon International Airport to participate in this year's first inter-Korean high level talks Seoul.

The first formal contact between the two countries since the nuclear issue escalated by a US-led international group's decisionto suspend heavy oil provision to the DPRK along with a set of the DPRK's moves to resume its frozen nuclear facilities and pull out from the NPT attracted more attention from the international community, especially in South Korea.

The two delegation will continue to hold a general meeting later Wednesday to discuss various issues of mutual concern.

(Xinhua News Agency January 22, 2003)