South Korea's unification minister Hyun In-taek (R) met with Kim Yang-gon, head of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s Workers' Party unification front department, from Pyongyang on Saturday in the first high-level cross-border contact in nearly two years.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    SEOUL, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's unification minister Hyun In-taek met with his counterpart from Pyongyang on Saturday in the first high-level cross-border contact in nearly two years.

    Hyun held talks with Kim Yang-gon, head of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s Workers' Party unification front department and a key figure in inter-Korean relations.

    Kim and his five other DPRK officials were in Seoul for paying respects to late former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung on Friday.

South Korea's unification minister Hyun In-taek (R) meets with Kim Yang-gon, head of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s Workers' Party unification front department, in Seoul, capital of South Korea, Aug. 22, 2009. This is the first high-level cross-border contact in nearly two years. (Xinhua/Newsis) Photo Gallery>>>

    "Now that we meet here, I'm going to raise inter-Korean issues," Hyun said while he arrived at a hotel where the DPRK team is staying.

    Asked by a reporter what message he would send in the closed-door meeting, Hyun said, "I'm the minister in charge of inter-Korean relations, and I think this meeting itself is a message."

    The meeting was the first high-level inter-Korean dialogue since the inauguration of South Korea's Lee Myung-bak administration in February last year.

South Korea's unification minister Hyun In-taek (R) shakes hands with Kim Yang-gon, head of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s Workers' Party unification front department, in Seoul, capital of South Korea, Aug. 22, 2009. This is the first high-level cross-border contact in nearly two years. (Xinhua/Newsis) Photo Gallery>>>