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Optimism builds for Korea talks
 Chung, left, shares a toast with Kim in Pyongyang on June 17. YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSSPECIAL REPORT
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RELATEDSEOUL, South Korea -- A top-level North Korean delegation arrived in Seoul on Tuesday afternoon for talks that South Korean officials hope will build on a more conciliatory tone struck by North Korea leader Kim Jong Il last week. The normally reclusive Kim told South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young in Pyongyang on Friday he was prepared to return to six-party talks on the North's nuclear program if the United States showed appropriate respect to his country. In September 2004 North Korea opted out of the talks -- which involve the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia -- and complained that Washington had a "hostile" policy towards it. In February, North Korea first announced it had nuclear weapons and earlier this month said it had a stockpile and was building more. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in May it estimated the North had enough plutonium to convert into "five or six" weapons. A North Korean delegation led by senior Cabinet counselor Kwon Ho Ung arrived at Incheon International Airport on Tuesday afternoon and moved straight to their hotel in Seoul. Chung will host a dinner for the visitors on Tuesday night, ahead of a formal start to the meetings on Wednesday. The talks, due to run to Friday, are aimed at easing nuclear tensions and developing closer ties between the two Koreas, which fought a war between 1950-53. The mood of optimism surrounding the bilateral talks stems from the surprisingly positive welcome the North gave to South Korea's Chung, who led a government delegation to Pyongyang last week to celebrate the landmark 2000 summit between the North's Kim and then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung. Chung said that during his unexpected meeting with Kim on Friday, the North Korean leader said he would return to the talks if Washington showed due respect. In New York, a North Korean diplomat reiterated that stance on Monday, saying that Pyongyang could return to six-party nuclear talks as early as next month if the United States stopped describing it in terms such as an "outpost of tyranny," South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported. In response, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the lead negotiator with the North, told Yonhap that when talks resumed "we will conduct them in an attitude of mutual respect to all the parties and also with the sense of equality that a good negotiation should have." Hill said he wanted a specific date for the resumption of talks, and he hoped it would be in July. Ahead of his meeting with Kim Jong Il, Chung on Thursday evening met the North's No. 2 leader, Kim Yong Nam, who said his country could treat the United States as a friendly nation if Washington acknowledged its regime. "If the United States recognizes North Korea's system, North Korea too will treat them as an ally," Kim Yong Nam told Chung, according to the Unification Ministry. During their 50-minute talk, Chung relayed Seoul's position that the North Korean nuclear issue should be "resolved peacefully and diplomatically through dialogue," his ministry said. Chung also told Kim the results of a recent Washington summit between U.S. President George W. Bush and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, where the two reaffirmed they would solve the North Korean nuclear issue through diplomacy. American officials have repeatedly said they have no intention of invading the North, and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said on several occasions recently that Washington recognizes North Korea as a sovereign nation. -- CNN Seoul Bureau Chief Sohn Jie-ae contributed to this report Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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