Two Koreas holding high-level talks at Panmunjom to plan next inter-Korean summit
  • 6 years ago
The two Koreas are locked in their fourth round of high-level talks at the truce village of Panmunjom.
The South Korean government says the talks are to check on how well South and North Korea are implementing their April summit agreement dubbed the Panmunjom Declaration... and to discuss the next inter-Korean summit.
For more, let's connect to our unification ministry correspondent Oh Jung-hee who's standing by at the Office for Inter-Korean Dialogue.
Jung-hee, fill us in....

Jiyoon, today's high-level talks began roughly two hours ago.
The delegations from Seoul and Pyongyang are now sitting down to discuss how well they've implemented the April summit agreement and how they'll hold another summit in the fall.
Seeing each other face-to-face for the first time in a month, the leading delegates -- Seoul's Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon and the head of Pyongyang's reunification committee Ri Son-gwon -- exchanged warm greetings.
They agreed the two Koreas are now headed in one direction with one shared goal.
Take a look.

"Meeting and talking in a friendly atmosphere like this means we are communicating. The fact we are speaking from the heart means our words can become actions. The two Koreas have become very close friends. It's a new era where we hold hands and go forward together."

"We are in the same boat. Just a year ago, we confronted each other amid high military tensions, but after your Chairman expressed a willingness to improve relations with us, projects are ongoing in various fields. I think it's so important for us to move forward with same feeling in our hearts."

So it seems like the talks began in a very warm atmosphere.
Jung-hee, I'd like to hear your thoughts on the prospects for today's talks.
Can we really expect to have the date and location of the next inter-Korean summit determined today?
Seoul's presidential office has been sounding very upbeat recently...

You're right,
At a press briefing over the weekend, the nation's top office spokesperson said,... through today's talks, he expects the two Koreas to agree on the summit's date and location, as well as the size of South Korean delegation to visit the North.
For now, it's widely speculated the summit will take place later this month in Pyongyang.
So, if that's the case, then that summit could provide momentum to the nuclear negotiations between North Korea and the U.S. which have stalled over the past few weeks.
But we can't be overly optimistic.
North Korean state media continued -- until yesterday -- to criticize Seoul for joining in with the international sanctions campaign... and Pyongyang could take advantage of today's meeting to officially express complaints towards Seoul.
The two Koreas also formed their delegations quite differently, meaning they may have different priorities for today's talks.
Seoul has an official from the presidential office hinting it's focused on planning the summit,... while North Korea has three officials
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