Seoul hopeful about inter-Korean projects
Kim Chang-su, center, deputy chief of the inter-Korean liaison office in Gaesong in North Korea, heads to Gaeseong along with other South Korean officials at the border transit office in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Joint Press Corps
By Jung Da-min
South Korea expressed hope that planned inter-Korean projects will proceed smoothly after some North Korean officials at the inter-Korean liaison office in the North's Gaeseong went back to work Monday.
A meeting between the representatives of the liaison office from the two Koreas was held and the office will operate normally, according to the unification ministry.
North Korean officials were quoted by the ministry as saying they came to work “as usual.”
On March 22, North Korea withdrew its staff from the inter-Korean liaison office saying the measure reflected “instructions from a superior authority,” without giving further details.
While the North Korean side has yet to explain the withdrawal and partial return of officials at the liaison office, Seoul remained hopeful about keeping the momentum for talks.
“We still have to watch the situation as the North's officials have yet make a full return, but it could be that the North felt pressure after breaking the momentum of talks with the South,” said Oh Gyeong-seob, a researcher at the Sejong Institute.
Earlier, 39 officials including Kim Chang-su, deputy head of the office headed to the Gaeseong office to join the 25 other officials who worked over the weekend.
A total of 64 South Korean officials continued working at the office for “normal operations.”
“Talks with the North through negotiation channels are being carried out without problems,” unification ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun said in a briefing.
Meanwhile, the defense ministry also said Monday that it is proceeding with the military talks it proposed with the North.
On March 4, Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo reported to President Moon Jae-in during a National Security Council (NSC) session that the military plans to have talks with the North on concrete ways to follow up on the Sept. 19 Comprehensive Military Agreement (CMA).
The military has yet to receive a response from the North.
Seoul's efforts to keep the momentum for talks with the North comes while the denuclearization negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea have seen little progress after the second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ended without any agreement.
The two Koreas agreed to hold a director-level weekly meeting at the inter-Korean office which was opened last September to foster cross-border exchanges, but no such meetings have been held since the Hanoi summit.
North Korean media have remained silent on the withdrawal from the liaison office and partial return of North Korean officials but expressed complaints about the South's recent
that it would proceed with the joint inter-Korean projects within the framework of existing international sanctions.
North Korea's propaganda outlet Uriminzokkiri said in an editorial that the South's argument was a “self-contradiction” and showed the South's irresponsible attitude in implementing the inter-Korean joint declarations made last year.