The two Koreas on Wednesday began a four-day joint festival on the sixth anniversary of their historic summit in 2000 in the South Korean city of Gwangju.

A 20-member North Korean delegation arrived in the southwestern city in the morning via direct flight from Pyongyang, and were joined later by more than 130 civilian compatriots.

The vice president of North Korea's parliament, Kim Yong-dae, is leading the North's delegation while his South Korean counterpart is Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok.

Kim's delegation visited a national cemetery housing the remains of hundreds of students and civic activists killed in the 1980 pro-democracy movement.

Former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung will give the opening speech at Gwangju World Cup Stadium.

He will also host a meeting of 17 Nobel Peace Prize laureates from Thursday to include former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev.

During the event, Seoul is expected to urge Pyongyang to return to the six-way nuclear talks and implement the accord reached in the last round of the meeting last year.

The two sides will also discuss Kim Dae-jung's planned trip to Pyongyang late this month.