The two Koreas have opened a working-group meeting on energy and other aid to be provided under a six-party agreement.

A Foreign Ministry official said the two sides were negotiating technical issues on the provision of aid to North Korea on Thursday. In their meeting at the truce village of Panmunjeom, they discussed specifications for equipment to be provided to the North.

The official added that the meeting started on schedule and will end Friday, despite the expulsion of South Korean officials from the Gaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea.

Seoul's delegation is headed by North Korean nuclear affairs specialist Kwon Yong-woo, while Pyongyang's is led by its national planning committee chairman Jin Chul.

Seoul heads the six-party working group on economic and energy cooperation.