South and North Korea on today started a new round of working-level talks to discuss ways to cooperate in light industry and natural resource exploration, the Unification Ministry said. "The key agenda items are the list and prices of raw material items," South Korean news agency Yonhap quoted Vice Unification Minister Shin Un-sang as saying in a press briefing. Later in the day, the ministry said the two sides would meet again on Friday to thrash out remaining differences. The two-day talks in the North Korean border city of Kaesong come about a week after the latest round of inter-Korean ministerial talks ended without tangible results. But Shin said the government will make efforts to maintain the momentum of bilateral ties. "Temporarily, a problem might arise in speed, but the framework of inter-Korean relations will be little changed. It should be noted that the dialogue went smoothly in spite of a key dispute over rice aid," he said. Asked about the fate of several North Korean defectors staying in Japan, Shin said the government is willing to accept them if they wish to come to South Korea when Japan's ongoing investigation ends. -- SPA
