Koreas agree to hold vice ministerial talks

By Jun Ji-hye

South and North Korea agreed Friday to hold vice ministerial talks on Dec. 11 in the North Korean border city of Gaeseong, raising hopes for easing strained inter-Korean relations.

The agreement came after 11 hours of marathon negotiations that began at 12:50 p.m., Thursday, at the truce village of Panmunjeom.

“We agreed that the delegation will be headed by vice ministerial-level officials. We will decide on the number of members at each other’s convenience,” said a joint press release after the meeting.

The agreement followed a landmark inter-Korean deal reached on Aug. 25 when military tensions were heightened on the Korean Peninsula after a North Korean landmine in the South-controlled section of the Demilitarized Zone maimed two South Korean soldiers.

In the talks, Seoul and Pyongyang are expected to discuss whether to resume the suspended Mount Geumgang tour program and normalize reunions of war-separated families, raising expectations for a thaw in inter-Korean relations.

“The South stressed that the separated families issue is a major problem that should be resolved,” said Ministry of Unification spokesman Jeong Joon-hee in a briefing. “For the North, the Mount Geumgang tour issue is an urgent question.”

However, skepticism prevails over whether the vice ministerial dialogue will reach any meaningful agreement.

Cheong Seong-chang, a senior fellow at the think tank Sejong Institute, echoed this sentiment, saying, “There is a big difference between things that can be agreed upon at vice ministerial-level talks and those that can be decided at ministerial-level talks.”

He said the agreement on holding vice ministerial-level talks showed a lack of will of the two Koreas to move toward effective dialogue.

Cheong added that there remains a further question as to who will be the head of the delegation due to differences between the two sides’ political systems -- disputes could emerge over which officials of the two Koreas match up as counterparts.

In June 2013, planned inter-Korean talks were cancelled just a day before the two sides planned to meet due to wrangles over who in the North was on the same level as the South’s unification minister.

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, also said that Thursday’s agreement can be assessed as just maintaining the momentum to keep the Aug. 25 inter-Korean agreement alive, but it will not be easy to achieve a substantial outcome from the upcoming talks.

The professor also questioned the location, saying, “Holding the talks at Gaeseong is in violation of the Aug. 25 agreement that stated the two would hold inter-Korean talks in Seoul or Pyongyang. It revealed the North’s intention not to regularize such talks.”

Regarding the venue issue, the ministry spokesman said that Seoul demanded that the talks be held here, while the North wanted the talks to be held in Gaeseong, Mount Geumgang or Panmunjeom, citing convenience of location.

“Future talks could take place in different cities including Seoul and Pyongyang,” he said.

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