North Korea has asked South Korea to resume inter-Korean humanitarian projects immediately after the two countries wrap up the ongoing 20th ministerial talks in Pyongyang.

The humanitarian projects are taken to mean South Korea’s rice and fertilizer aid and reunions of families separated during the Korean War.

North Korea's chief delegate Kwon Ho-ung, in his keynote speech for the first plenary session, also proposed to hold the 13th inter-Korean economic cooperation committee meeting in Pyongyang earlier than scheduled.

The South Korean delegation called on the North to immediately allow reunions of separated families by April. It also urged Pyongyang to resume construction of a reunion center on Mount Geumgang, which has been suspended since last July.

After the first plenary session which lasted 70 minutes, delegates from the two Koreas reportedly left the venue looking grim.