By Yoo Dong-ho
Staff Reporter

A five-member South Korean delegation arrived in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, Tuesday for the 14th round of inter-Korean Cabinet-level talks.

The South Korean delegation, headed by Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun, was welcomed by North Korean officials. A main round of negotiations will start on Wednesday.

During the four-day talks, the South is expected to focus on how to help the North in its reconstruction effort following the massive explosion at the North Korean border town of Ryongchon on April 22, Seoul officials said.

North Korea is expected to ask for rice aid of 400,000 tons of rice, officials in Seoul said. Last year, Seoul provided the same amount for Pyongyang.

The North’s delegation will be headed by Kwon Ho-ung, a Cabinet minister who recently replaced Kim Ryong-song as new chief negotiator for talks _ the highest level of dialogue between the two countries.

South Korean delegation will try and talk the North into ensuring that the working-level talks over the North’s nuclear programs, slated for next month, produce tangible results.

Seoul negotiators will also exhort their northern counterparts to reopen stalled inter-Korean defense ministers’ talks, which were held only once in 2000. Before leaving Seoul, Unification Minister Jeong said that it is indispensable for the North to show its sincerity in the area of military tension reduction between the two Koreas.

Seoul and Pyongyang agreed last February to hold the talks as soon as possible to alleviate tensions and build confidence between the two sides’ armed forces. But the timeline is yet to be decided upon.

The military dialogue is aimed at discussing ways to head off possible clashes in the West Sea during the peak of crab-catching season, when an increasing number of northern fishing boats cross into southern waters.

The issue of more inter-Korean family reunions will likely be brought up at the talks. Officials from the South shared the view that the ninth cross border reunions should be held from June in commemoration of the fourth anniversary of the landmark inter-Korean summit of 2000.

The two Koreas will also review the progress of inter-Korea economic projects as cross-border railway and joint industrial complex at the North’s border town, North Korea watchers in Seoul said.

yoodh@koreatimes.co.kr