Civic group leaders and North Korea have started negotiations on the size of South Korea's delegation to joint celebrations in Pyongyang on June 15th.

A nine-member delegation from Seoul arrived in the North Korean capital Saturday via Beijing.

The group represents the South's preparatory committee for the joint event commemorating the fifth anniversary of the landmark inter-Korean summit in June 2000.

During their four-day stay in Pyongyang, delegates will try to persuade the North to hold the joint celebrations as agreed earlier by the two sides.

The delegation has insisted that the events proceed as planned for the sake of trust and the event's cause as well as for the interest of both sides.

On Wednesday, Pyongyang abruptly demanded that Seoul scale back the number of delegates to one hundred-90 from more than six hundred, and that of government delegates to 30 from 70.

Seoul balked at the North's request, but hinted at reducing the size of the government delegation if the North agrees to keep that of the civic groups.

Pyongyang is apparently angry over the US deployment of F-117 stealth bombers in the South, blasting it as preparation for a preemptive strike on the North.