S. Korea eyes high-level talks with DPRK

SEOUL. - South Korea will seek to hold high-level talks with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) later this month to prepare for the agreed inter-Korean summit, the Blue House said yesterday.

Im Jong-seok, chief of staff for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, told a press briefing that the Moon government will push for a senior-level dialogue with the DPRK in late March for the inter-Korean summit agreed to be held in late April.

South Korea planned to officially propose to the DPRK for holding the highlevel talks, Im said, after convening the first meeting of the presidential committee to prepare for the summit between President Moon and Kim Jong Un, top leader of the DPRK.

The first meeting, Im said, confirmed the upcoming inter-Korean summit should become a turning point to resolve the Korean Peninsula issues.

For the fundamental resolution, he said the committee will make preparations for the summit focusing on issues to denuclearise the Korean Peninsula, dramatically defuse military tensions, build a permanent peace and advance new inter-Korean relations.

Aside from the preparation committee of the Blue House, a separate advisory group, composed of 30 to 40 members, will be formed to collect a wide range of public opinion and share the experiences of former government officials who had prepared for the past inter-Korean summits in 2000 and 2007, Im said.

Moon and Kim have agreed to hold their first meeting in late April at Peace House, a South Korean building in the truce village of Panmunjom that straddles the two Koreas. If held as scheduled, Kim will become the first DPRK leader to set foot in the South Korean territory since the 1950-1953 Korean War ended in armistice, not peace treaty. The Korean Peninsula remains technically in a state of war.