A government delegation to the joint commemoration of the June 2000 inter-Korean summit is scheduled to meet with the North’s number-two leader on Thursday.

Led by Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, 40 government officials will meet with the head of the North's parliament, Kim Yong-nam, after attending the closing ceremony of the joint event in Pyongyang. After the meeting, Kim will host a farewell dinner for the South Korean delegation.

The delegation is expected to brief Kim on the results of last week’s summit talks between President Roh Moo-hyun and U.S. President George W. Bush. After the summit, Bush offered to provide security guarantees and seek normalization of ties if the North abandons its nuclear ambitions.

The delegation will also urge the North’s swift return to the six-way nuclear talks and express Seoul’s willingness to provide comprehensive and substantive support once Pyongyang commits itself to settling its nuclear impasse.

Attention is focused on whether the South's delegation will get to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-il before its return to Seoul on Friday.