South Korean President Lee Myung-bak held talks on Sunday morning with a delegation from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) which is visiting Seoul to pay respect to late former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, a government official said.??

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak held talks on Sunday morning with a delegation from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) which is visiting Seoul to pay respect to late former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, a government official said. [Xinhua]

The message was said to be about Kim Jong II's views on the progress of inter-Korean relations, according to Lee.

With respect to Kim's message, the South Korean president expressed his hope for continuing dialogue with "integrity", reconfirming the regime would further push for its "firm, consistent" inter-Korean policy, Lee added.

President Lee also asked the DPRK delegation to deliver his message to the DPRK leader, the spokesman said.

The DPRK delegates, in return, said they hoped the two Koreas will "cooperate" on every issue they face, also expressing gratefulness for the meeting, Lee said.

The meeting was said to have been held in a "serious, yet warm" mood, according to Lee.

The spokesman, however, did not identify the details of the message from Kim Jong IL, saying "it should not be publicized as it is a sensitive issue."

An official at the presidential office said issues related to four detained fishermen or resumption of inter-Korean talks were not brought up during the meeting, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said.

The meeting was widely expected to deal with thorny inter-Korean issues, such as the fishermen hauled by the DPRK authorities on July 30 and restart of inter-Korean dialogue.

Talks between President Lee Myung-bak and the visiting high-level DPRK delegation were held at the president's office.

The 30-minute talks were attended by DPRK delegates, including DPRK leader Kim Jong II's close aides Kim Ki Nam and Kim Yang Gon, and South Korean Unification Minister Hyun In-taek.

"(The meeting) went very well," Kim Ki Nam told reporters right after the talks.

South Korea's presidential office said the meeting with the DPRK was part of the protocol for foreign delegates to Kim's funeral with the president scheduled to later meet with envoys from 10 other countries .

The DPRK "special envoys" arrived in Seoul Friday with a plan to stay two days, but later delayed their schedule by one day in pursuit of a meeting with South Korean president. The delegation?left Gimpo Airport in Seoul at local time 12:10 (0310 GMT).

Upon their return, Kim Ki Nam, leader of the delegation, said " we are leaving the country in a good mood."

(Xinhua News Agency August 23, 2009)