SEOUL - LEADERS of the two Koreas opened formal talks on Wednesday at the first summit between the divided countries in seven years, following a chilly reception for the South Korean president from North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun and Kim began meeting at about 9:30 am (8.30am), South Korean pool reports said, after the opening day of the summit on Tuesday where the two had no contact besides a 12-minute welcoming ceremony where they barely exchanged words.

This week's summit is only the second time leaders of the North and South have met since the Korean peninsula was divided after World War II.

On Tuesday, Mr Kim let his deputy, the country's nominal head of state Kim Yong Nam, deal with the South Koreans at ceremonial meetings, where pool reports gave no details of any substantive issues being discussed. The North also hosted a banquet where Mr Roh offered a toast to Kim Jong Il's health.

Chilly start
The apparent snub by Mr Kim in ignoring Mr Roh for most of his first day in Pyongyang followed a welcoming ceremony during which the North Korean leader showed scant enthusiasm and seldom smiled. His demeanour appeared a stark contrast with the friendliness he offered Mr Roh's predecessor, Kim Dae Jung, at the first-ever summit in 2000.

During an airport reception at that time, Kim Jong Il greeted his South Korean counterpart with smiles and clasped both his hands tightly in an emotional moment that softened the North Korean strongman's image to South Koreans and the world.

In the first summit, the two leaders also rode together in a limousine to central Pyongyang and talked for about half an hour on the first day.

This time, it was unclear what made Mr Kim appear less enthusiastic about the summit, in what could be an ominous sign for two rounds of official talks between the two leaders on Wednesday.

Mr Kim had already seized a dominant position in the talks by only agreeing to a summit in the North, reneging on a promise in 2000 to pay a return visit to the South.

Genuine peace process?
Mr Roh has said he wants to use this week's summit to start a genuine peace process with North Korea instead of the current reconciliation track, which has seen halting progress in reducing military tension on the Cold War's last frontier.

The two Koreas remain technically at war since a 1953 cease-fire ended the Korean War, despite seven years of warming ties.

Mr Roh has not given any specifics about what he will propose or seek, prompting criticism from conservatives at home that the summit is an ego trip for the South Korean leader to establish a legacy for his unpopular administration, which ends in February.

Both Mr Roh and Mr Kim also hope to keep the surging conservatives from winning South Korea's December presidential election. They hold a commanding lead in opinion polls. The main opposition Grand National Party is more sceptical of relations with the North, insisting aid be conditional on nuclear disarmament and reforms in the country's centralised economy.

Friction with US
Mr Roh's eager embrace of the North has also caused friction with Seoul's ally Washington, which wants improvement in relations between the Koreas to only follow progress in the North scaling back its nuclear ambitions.

The South Korean leader sought to play down expectations on Tuesday before departing from Seoul.

'Even if we do not reach an agreement in many areas, it would still be a meaningful achievement to narrow the gap in understanding and to enhance confidence in each other,' he said of the summit. -- AP