Vice Unification Minister Shin Eonsang expects inter-Korean relations to develop without major difficulties despite potential temporary delays.

In a regular news briefing Thursday, Shin quoted Seoul officials who recently visited North Korea as saying that there has been no fundamental change in Pyongyang’s position that it will maintain peaceful and cooperative relations with Seoul.

The vice minister also said that last week’s cross-border ministerial talks proceeded smoothly as scheduled, despite the lack of a substantial agreement coming out of the talks. He stressed that Seoul strongly urged Pyongyang to implement initial nuclear disarmament steps in line with the six-party agreement reached in February.