Delegates from South and North Korea wrapped up talks for economic and energy assistance at around 4:30 p.m Friday.

At the talks, held at the truce village of Panmunjeom, the two sides are said to have discussed the issue of the South's economic and energy assistance to the impovershed North, as agreed under a six-party agreement.

Hyon Hak-bong, deputy chief of the U.S. affairs bureau at the North's Foreign Ministry, said in a keynote speech that Pyongyang has halted its nuclear disablement process because the United States is not keeping its promise to remove the communist country from a terrorism blacklist, and because parties to the six-way nuclear talks have failed to provide energy assistance.

Seoul's chief delegate, Hwang Joon-kook, said that he expects the verification issue to make progress and the disabling and energy aid to be implemented as planned.