Pyongyang, Seoul approve military, Red Cross talks
SEOUL— North and South Korea agreed Friday to hold military and Red Cross talks this month on reducing tensions and resuming reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.
The rivals also agreed at a meeting of senior officials at the border village of Panmunjom to establish a liaison office at the North Korean border town of Kaesong and hold sports talks on fielding combined teams for some sports at the Asian Games in August, as they continue to take steps toward reconciliation.
South Korea says building trust with North Korea is crucial amid a U.S.-led diplomatic push to persuade the North to give up its nuclear weapons.
American delegations are also meeting with North Koreans at Panmunjom and in Singapore as part of efforts to plan the June 12 summit in Singapore.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry said the Koreas agreed to set up the liaison office at a factory park in Kaesong that had been jointly operated by the countries until the South shut it down in 2016 after a North Korean nuclear test. The Koreas agreed to hold the military talks at Panmunjom on June 14 and the Red Cross talks on June 22 at the North’s Diamond Mountain resort.
The talks between sports officials were set for June 18 at Panmunjom, the ministry said.
“If we continue to engage with each other like we did today, there will be no problem that can’t be solved between the South and North,” said South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who met with Kim Jong Un twice in the past two months, has said progress in inter-Korean reconciliation will be a crucial part of international efforts to resolve the nuclear standoff with North Korea because the North won’t give up its nuclear program unless it feels its security is assured.