NORTH, SOUTH KOREA HOLD TALKS FOR FIRST TIME IN TWO YEARS
Pyongyang, Seoul hold first official talks in two years
NORTH Korea yesterday said it is willing to send athletes and a high-level delegation to the Winter Olympics in the South as the rivals held their first official talks in more than two years after high tensions over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme.
Seoul urged that reunions of families divided by the 1950-53 Korean War be held at the same time as the Games.
The talks were held in Panmunjom, the truce village in the Demilitarised Zone that splits the peninsula, with the North’s group walking over the Military Demarcation Line to the Peace House venue on the southern side.
“The North side proposed despatching a high-level delegation, a National Olympic Committee delegation, athletes, supporters, art performers, observers, a taekwondo demonstration team and journalists to the Games,” the South’s Vice-Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung said.
In addition to the resumption of family reunions, Seoul suggested the two sides march together at the opening ceremony. It also called for Red Cross talks and military discussions to prevent “accidental clashes”.
“Let’s present the people with a precious new year’s gift,” said North Korea’s chief delegate Ri Son-gwon.
“There is a saying that a journey taken by two lasts longer than the one travelled alone.”
The atmosphere was friendlier than at past meetings.
“The people have a strong de- sire to see the North and South move towards peace and reconciliation,” South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said.
It was a radically different tone from the rhetoric of recent months, which have seen North’s leader Kim Jong-un and United States President Donald Trump trade personal i nsults and threats of war.
Seoul has been keen to proclaim the Games in Pyeongchang, 80km south of the DMZ, a “peace Olympics”, but it needs Pyongyang to attend to make the description meaningful.
Issues still to be settled include the question of joint entrances to the opening and closing ceremonies, the size of Pyongyang’s delegation and their accommodation, widely expected to be paid for by Seoul, as well as any linked discussions.
Only two winter sports athletes from the North have qualified for the Games, but hundreds of young, female North Korean cheerleaders have created a buzz at three international sporting events in the South.
The group may stay on a cruise ship in Sokcho, about an hour’s drive from the Olympic venue, which would enable their movements to be monitored and controlled.
A high-level delegation accompanying the team could include Kim’s younger sister Yo-jong, a senior member of the ruling Workers Party, according to South Korean reports.
Both sides expressed the desire to address wider questions than the Games. But Pyongyang has snubbed previous attempts by Seoul to set up further family reunions, saying it will not do so unless several of its citizens are returned by the South.
“The two will reach a smooth agreement on Pyeongchang, but what happens afterwards?” said Koh Yu-hwan, a professor at Dongguk University.
“In terms of issues regarding the improvement of inter-Korean ties, it won’t be easy to immediately reach an agreement.”