South Korea and North Korea are set to hold high-level talks Friday to discuss steps to implement the agreement reached by their leaders in their April and May summits.

Officials of the two Koreas will start high-level talks at 10 a.m. at the truce village of Panmunjom in the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone that divides the Koreas, according to the unification ministry.

Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon leads South Korea's five-member delegation, including Vice Transport Minister Kim Jeong-ryeol and Vice Culture Minster Roh Tae-kang.

The North's five-member team is headed by Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country. It also includes Vice Railroad Minister Kim Yun-hyok and Vice Sports Minister Won Kil-u.

The meeting is mainly intended to discuss follow-up measures to the agreements that South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reached in their summits held on April 27 and May 26.

In the Panmunjom Declaration adopted during the April meeting, the two agreed to halt all hostile acts against each other, open a joint liaison office in the North's border city of Kaesong and vowed various cooperation efforts.

They promised to hold a reunion of families divided by the 1950-53 Korean War on the occasion of the Aug. 15 Liberation Day.

Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon speaks before he leaves for inter-Korean talks on June 1, 2018. (Yonhap

"We will have discussions with the North on ways to implement what the leaders of both countries agreed to in the Panmunjom Declaration and the summit held on May 26 in a speedy manner and without a hitch, while creating a positive atmosphere for a summit between the North and the United States," Cho told reporters before leaving for the talks.

During the high-level talks, the two Koreas could also discuss details related to arranging joint events to mark the June 15 declaration adopted after the first inter-Korean summit in 2000. Cho said that the top priority would be placed on arrangements for such events in the talks with the North given that there isn't much time before the event.

The meeting was originally scheduled for May 16, but the North abruptly called it off at the last minute, taking issue with joint military drills between South Korea and the United States.

In an apparently hastily arranged second inter-Korean summit last week, the leaders of the two Koreas agreed to hold high-level talks to map out detailed steps to implement the Panmunjom Declaration.

A flurry of diplomacy is under way to prepare for a potential summit between North Korea and the U.S., which will likely take place in Singapore on June 12. (Yonhap)

저작권자 © The Korea Post 무단전재 및 재배포 금지