SEOUL, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- South Korean officials will seek a permanent peace treaty during inter-Korean talks on shutting down North Korea's nuclear program, a government minister said.
Speaking to reporters in Seoul, South Korean Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung said South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun will discuss the idea with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il when the pair meet Tuesday at the start of three days of talks in Pyongyang, the Yonhap news agency reported.
Since the early 1950s the two countries have technically been at war under a tense cease-fire.
Sunday, negotiators from the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States reached tentative agreement in Beijing on how Pyongyang will dismantle its nuclear reactors.
Lee said Roh and his entourage of 300 will urge Kim to follow through on the agreement in order to secure "a new order for peace on the Korean Peninsula."
