Two Koreas holding fifth round of high-level talks at border village of Panmunjeom
- 6 years ago
The two Koreas are holding their fifth round of high-level talks of the year today at the truce village of Panmunjeom.
The talks are to check on how well South and North Korea are implementing their September summit agreement, dubbed the Pyeongyang Joint Declaration... and to rubberstamp schedules for follow-up talks in various fields.
For more, let's connect live to our unification ministry correspondent Oh Jung-hee, who's standing by at the Office of Inter-Korean Dialogue.
Jung-hee, do we know if the talks have started yet?
Mark.
We are expecting the talks to have begun by now -- they were scheduled to start at 10 this morning at the Peace House on the South Korean side of the border village of Panmunjeom.
As you mentioned, this is the fifth round of high-level talks between the two Koreas this year alone,... and comes just a month after the current leaders of South and North Korea had their third summit of 2018 in the North Korean capital.
South and North Korea are both sending five-member delegations, with Seoul's Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon and Ri Son-gwon, the head of Pyeongyang's reunification committee, leading each of them.
Vice ministers in charge of transport and railroad... as well as sports will also attend.
Plus, North Korea is sending officials responsible for environmental protection and economic cooperation.
Jung-hee, the two sides have a lot to talk about... and we know this because of all the action plans stipulated in the Pyeongyang Joint Declaration.
Just walk us through what's on the agenda today...
Well, Mark, it seems the two sides will focus much of their attention on their railway and road connection plans.
When Seoul's Unification Minister visited Pyeongyang early this month, he specifically pointed to rescheduling and starting joint railway inspections as an imminent issue to be dealt with.
South Korea initially planned to send a research team to the North in late August for inspections,... but that failed because the UN Command disapproved of it.
This matter is a high priority for Seoul and Pyeongyang because it's stipulated in September's summit agreement... that they hold a groundbreaking ceremony within this year for related constructions.
But other than that, the issue of war-torn families is likely to be touched upon.
In September, President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed to open a permanent facility for war-torn families to meet... as well as enable video meetings and video messages.
The two sides could also talk about ways to cooperate in forestry and medical care.
Both the vice sports ministers of the two sides are taking part in today's talks.
That could mean Seoul and Pyeongyang kick-start discussions on forming joint teams for future international sports events including the 2020 Summer Olympics... and launching a joint bid to host the 2032 Summer Olympics.
A concert by North Korea's art troupe could also be on the table... as they are visiting Seoul t
The talks are to check on how well South and North Korea are implementing their September summit agreement, dubbed the Pyeongyang Joint Declaration... and to rubberstamp schedules for follow-up talks in various fields.
For more, let's connect live to our unification ministry correspondent Oh Jung-hee, who's standing by at the Office of Inter-Korean Dialogue.
Jung-hee, do we know if the talks have started yet?
Mark.
We are expecting the talks to have begun by now -- they were scheduled to start at 10 this morning at the Peace House on the South Korean side of the border village of Panmunjeom.
As you mentioned, this is the fifth round of high-level talks between the two Koreas this year alone,... and comes just a month after the current leaders of South and North Korea had their third summit of 2018 in the North Korean capital.
South and North Korea are both sending five-member delegations, with Seoul's Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon and Ri Son-gwon, the head of Pyeongyang's reunification committee, leading each of them.
Vice ministers in charge of transport and railroad... as well as sports will also attend.
Plus, North Korea is sending officials responsible for environmental protection and economic cooperation.
Jung-hee, the two sides have a lot to talk about... and we know this because of all the action plans stipulated in the Pyeongyang Joint Declaration.
Just walk us through what's on the agenda today...
Well, Mark, it seems the two sides will focus much of their attention on their railway and road connection plans.
When Seoul's Unification Minister visited Pyeongyang early this month, he specifically pointed to rescheduling and starting joint railway inspections as an imminent issue to be dealt with.
South Korea initially planned to send a research team to the North in late August for inspections,... but that failed because the UN Command disapproved of it.
This matter is a high priority for Seoul and Pyeongyang because it's stipulated in September's summit agreement... that they hold a groundbreaking ceremony within this year for related constructions.
But other than that, the issue of war-torn families is likely to be touched upon.
In September, President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed to open a permanent facility for war-torn families to meet... as well as enable video meetings and video messages.
The two sides could also talk about ways to cooperate in forestry and medical care.
Both the vice sports ministers of the two sides are taking part in today's talks.
That could mean Seoul and Pyeongyang kick-start discussions on forming joint teams for future international sports events including the 2020 Summer Olympics... and launching a joint bid to host the 2032 Summer Olympics.
A concert by North Korea's art troupe could also be on the table... as they are visiting Seoul t