By Joint Press Corps & Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter

KAESONG, North Korea _ South Korea’s Unification Minister Chung Dong-young will make his first visit to Pyongyang in mid-June, with hopes that he could meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in person in a bid to find a breakthrough in the standoff over the North’s nuclear drive.

South and North Korea made a package deal on Thursday after days of talks in the border city and released a three-point joint press statement, including South Korean delegates’ visit to the North’s capital to observe the fifth anniversary of the June 15, 2000 inter-Korean summit.

The two Koreas also agreed to hold their 15th ministerial talks in Seoul on June 21-24 and South Korea will provide 200,000 tons of fertilizer aid worth some 80 billion won ($79.5 million) to the North starting tomorrow, according to the joint statement.

With the regional standoff over the North’s nuclear weapons program showing little sign of resolving, the envisioned trip by the chief unification official draws special attention as he, if his meeting with the North Korean leader takes place, might deliver President Roh Moo-hyun’s letter to Kim.

The two sides decided to hold working-level officials’ meetings in the coming days to discuss the details of the joint celebratory events slated from June 14-17, Vice Unification Minister Rhee Bong-jo, who led the Seoul delegation to this week’s talks, told reporters.

Chung, in Seoul, expressed hopes that the talks would help normalize the inter-Korean relations and resolve the longstanding nuclear impasse. ``Now it’s time to further exert diplomatic efforts to get the six-party talks restarted.’’

But the joint press release failed to contain some concrete words related to the nuclear issue as North Korea refused to do so despite the South’s vigorous persuasion, according to the South Korean delegates.

The statement stated that the two sides ``agreed to exert efforts together for better relations between the two Koreas and for peace on the Korean Peninsula.’’ Rhee said, though it might fall short of expectations, the sentence reflects the two sides’ firm will to resolve the nuclear issue.

The cross-border meeting, which came after a 10-month hiatus, kicked off on Monday at Chanamsan Hotel in the North’s city of Kaesong, where an industrial complex is being built as part of inter-Korean economic cooperation.

In an effort to resume the six-party talks on the North’s nuclear program, South Korea promised on the first day of the talks to present an ``important proposal’’ at the next round of six-party talks if only North Korea returns to the multinational disarmament forum.

jinryu@koreatimes.co.kr