Unification Minister Chung Dong-Young, the first South Korean cabinet minister to visit North Korea in nearly a year, landed in Pyongyang at 6:15 pm (0915 GMT), according to a South Korean pool report.

Some buildings in downtown Pyongyang were draped with banners reading "Welcome representatives from the South", and North Koreans gave an enthusiastic welcome to the delegates from the south, the report said.

Chung is taking part in celebrations marking the fifth anniversary of the historic inter-Korean summit of June 2002.

His four-day visit followed last week's summit between US President George W. Bush and his South Korean counterpart Roh Moo-Hyun during which Bush pledged to establish "more normal relations" with the North if it abandoned its nuclear programs.

Chung is expected to meet Kim Yong-Nam, North Korea's No. 2 leader after Kim Jong-Il, and other top North Korean officials.

Before leaving Seoul, Chung played down the links between his visit with the nuclear crisis.

"This event has nothing to do with negotiations or talks but to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the summit," he said.

But South Korean officials said they expected the nuclear standoff to be discussed informally, and that Bush's overture to Pyongyang will be relayed then, said Roh's spokesman Kim Man-Soo.

"I think it will be done in a natural way," he said.

North Korea has boycotted the six-nation nuclear crisis talks since last June, refusing to return unless Washington drops what Pyongyang calls a "hostile" policy towards the North.

On February 10 it declared it had nuclear weapons, and US officials fear it could conduct a nuclear test with little or no warning, taking the international standoff to a new level.

In an attempt to revive negotiations, US officials made a rare working-level visit to North Korea's UN representative office in New York on May 13, but failed to make any progress.

Pyongyang again raised the stakes last week by announcing it had enough nuclear weapons to defend itself against an attack by the United States and was building more.

Roh's summit with Bush in Washington apparently left open the question of what the two allies should do if North Korea continues to boycott six-party talks which also include China, Russia and Japan.

During the meeting Bush said any new incentives for the impoverished state could only be discussed if North Korea returns to talks, South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon said Tuesday.

Chung is leading a 40-member delegation including nine officials. The two Koreas restored their official channel of dialogue in May following a 10-month hiatus and agreed to resume high-level reconciliation talks in Seoul next week.

He was accompanied by 300 representatives from non-governmental organizations, religious groups and political parties, the Unification Ministry said.

The delegates would attend a ceremony for joint celebrations at Kim Il-Sung Stadium in Pyongyang, followed by a reception hosted by North Korean Premier Pak Bong-Ju.

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