Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, who's on the tail-end of a four-day visit to Pyongyang, is set to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il before returning to Seoul.

A ministry official announced that Chung will meet with Kim sometime on Friday, but the exact time and place of their meeting have yet to be set.

Chung is likely to convey Seoul’s position on the North’s nuclear issue, including a willingness to provide comprehensive and substantive support once Pyongyang commits itself to settling its nuclear impasse.

Chung will also brief the North Korean leader on the results of last Saturday’s summit between President Roh Moo-hyun and U.S. President George W. Bush. At the summit, Bush offered to provide security guarantees and seek normalization of ties if the North abandons its nuclear ambitions.

Chung, the head of a 40-member government delegation, arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday to attend June 15th joint celebrations.

The chances of Chung's meeting with the reclusive North Korean leader were initially deemed slim after his Thursday night meeting with the North's number two leader, Kim Yong-nam.

The unscheduled meeting with the North Korean leader has forced the delegation to delay its return to Seoul, which was originally set for Friday morning.