Senior ROK, DPRK officials hold talks in Incheon

INCHEON - Unification Minister of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Ryoo Kihl-jae is in talks with a high-level delegation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), which arrived here earlier Saturday to attend the closing ceremony of the 17th Asian Games.

The delegation is headed by Hwang Pyong So, currently vice chairman of the DPRK National Defense Commission and director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army.

Hwang was accompanied by Choe Ryong Hae and Kim Yang Gon, secretaries of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.

The talks over lunch in Oakwood Hotel in Songdo, Incheon, where the Asian Games is to end, marks the highest-level meeting between the ROK and the DPRK since President Park Geun-hye took office in February 2013.

Kim Kwan-jin, the ROK's national security adviser who is present at the meeting, told Xinhua before the talks started," There are a lot of problems between South and North during this period, we should gradually solve them through dialogue."

ROK's Foreign Ministry on Saturday said it was hopeful that the visit can play a role in improving bilateral relations.

Since the three senior DPRK officials are not directly in charge of sports affairs, the visit by these influential figures is noteworthy, ROK's Yonhap News Agency reported.

The delegation will meet DPRK athletes before the closing ceremony is held at 6:00 pm local time. They will leave for Pyongyang after the closing ceremony at around 10 pm.