North, South Korea hold rare high-level talks

SEOUL, Feb 12 (AFP): North and South Korean officials held their highest level talks for years Wednesday, seeking to thrash out common ground for improving ties despite a row over looming South Korea-US military drills.
The discussions in the border truce village of Panmunjom had no fixed agenda, but aimed to cover a range of "major" issues, including a planned February 20-25 reunion for family members divided by the Korean War.
A short morning dialogue was followed by three hours of discussions in the afternoon, after which the two chief delegates began a one-on-one session at 7:15pm (1000 GMT).
The South delegation was led by top National Security Council official Kim You-Hun, who said Seoul's focus was on ensuring that the reunion went ahead as scheduled.
The North side, led by Won Tong-Yon-deputy head of a ruling party organisation that handles inter-Korean ties-was expected to make another push for South Korea to cancel its annual military drills with the United States, which are slated to begin February 24.