Yi Whan-woo is a Korea Times journalist primarily covering finance. He writes in-depth articles on macroeconomy and financial markets and previously covered sports, politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs, among others. Feel free to contact him at yistory@koreatimes.co.kr.
Seoul, Pyongyang to hold dialogues regularly
Tourists look around Imjingak Pavilion in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, near the Demilitarized Zone, Tuesday afternoon. Admission restrictions to the pavilion, which came as tensions between the two Koreas reached serious levels, were withdrawn following an agreement reached by the two Koreas on Tuesday morning. / Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon
By Yi Whan-woo
By Yi Whan-woo
The two Koreas will capitalize on their agreement at high-level talks to “regularly and systematically” hold inter-Korean dialogue, the government said Tuesday.
“This is only the beginning,” an official at the Ministry of Unification told reporters on condition of anonymity. “Seoul and Pyongyang officials reached an implicit consensus during their Tuesday meeting that the two countries should hold dialogue regularly and systematically in accordance with their six-point agreement.”
He referred to the first point of the accord, which was mainly aimed at ending the military standoff between the two in the wake of North Korea’s landmine attack on Aug. 4.
The deal came after marathon negotiations at Panmunjeom ― starting Saturday ― between National Security Office chief Kim Kwan-jin and Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo, and Pyongyang’s No. 2 man Hwang Pyong-so and United Front Department Director Kim Yang-gon.
Point one states that “The North and the South agreed to hold talks between their authorities in Pyongyang or Seoul at an early date to improve North-South ties and have multi-faceted dialogue and negotiations in the future.”
The agreement has raised optimism that reunions of families separated by the Korean War may take place regularly in the future.
The reunions have been considered one of the most urgent issues to resolve between the two Koreas.
In point five of the agreement, Seoul and Pyongyang agreed to arrange a reunion on the occasion of Chuseok, a traditional holiday on the Korean Peninsula that falls on Sept. 27 this year.
The unification ministry is pushing to update the list of some 66,000 surviving members of separated families, half of whom are 80 or older.
The reunions have been one of issues of contention that have worsened Seoul-Pyongyang ties over the past few years.
The other contentious issues include resuming South Korea’s tour program to Mount Geumgang in North Korea, scrapping annual Seoul-Washington joint military exercises and lifting economic sanctions imposed on May 24, 2010 against Pyongyang after it sank the South Korean frigate Cheonan.
The unification ministry said Hwang and Kim raised the issue of the suspended tour program to Mount Geumgang.
“But they did not raise objections to the May 24 sanctions and ongoing Ulchi-Freedom Guardian (UFG) exercise,” it said. UFG is an annual military exercise between South Korean and the United States that is held in August.
“Pyongyang’s nuclear program was also not on the negotiation table because we had to settle the military standoff first.”