North and South Korea to hold talks over Olympics
NORTH and South Korea agreed yesterday to hold border talks next week amid signs of the first major thaw in relations between the two nations in two years.
The agreement to hold negotiations on Tuesday at the border village of Panmunjon was announced just hours after Washington and Seoul agreed to postpone joint military exercises until after the Winter Olympics in the South Korean resort of Pyeongchang in February.
The initial meeting will focus on the North’s possible participation in the Olympics, but it is hoped that talks can be expanded to de-escalate tensions that have been building over Pyongyang’s accelerating nuclear and weapons programme.
The first sign of a shift in the frozen ties between the neighbours came in a New Year’s Day speech by Kim Jong-un in which he made overtures towards easing relations through dialogue and by sending an Olympic delegation.
This prompted a swift offer from the South to open talks next week and a flurry of diplomatic interactions, including the reopening of a telephone hotline in Panmunjon after it had lain dormant for almost two years.
It is believed that it was through this hotline that North Korea told the South that it would agree to meet at the border village, which is divided by a military demarcation line. It is the only place in the demilitarised zone where soldiers from both sides stand just feet from each other.
It is not yet clear who will be attending. Baik Tae-hyun, the South Korean presidential spokesman, said the two sides would initially discuss details about the Olympics, including the composition of delegates, by exchanging documents.
Possible items on the agenda could include the delegation’s travel routes, expenses, and whether the two Koreas, which are still technically at war, would march together under a unified flag at the opening and closing ceremonies.
Kim Jong-un said this week that sending a delegation to the Games would be a “good opportunity to show unity of the people”, while Moon Jaein, the South’s president, called it a “groundbreaking chance” to improve relations.