Inter-Korea talks will focus on Olympics

Meeting to start at 10 a.m. today

By Kim Rahn

The two Koreas will focus on North Korea’s participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and resuming stalled exchanges during the inter-Korea talks slated for today, a representative of Seoul’s delegation said Monday.

Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon told reporters the five-member delegation would mainly discuss the North’s participation in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, rather than expanding the agenda to reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War or military talks.

Seoul and Pyongyang agreed to hold the inter-Korean talks at 10 a.m. today. The talks will take place only eight days after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un announced his intention to send a delegation to the PyeongChang Games, a proposal the South Korean President gladly accepted. Since then, the two Koreas have prepared for the talks by reopening a communication link at Panmunjeom, Jan. 3.

“The talks are held at an important time, and domestic and international attention is high. We have thoroughly prepared for the talks,” Cho said.

The minister noted that he and the four other members of the delegation ― Unification Vice Minister Chun Hae-sung, Sports Second Vice Minister Roh Tae-kang, and two other senior government officials ― prepared for the talks over the weekend.

The ministry said the delegation has had close consultations with related government bodies including the National Security Council (NSC). “The South’s measures have been set through vice minister-level meetings of related agencies, minister-level ones and an NSC meeting,” ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun said.

“The minister himself reported the measures to President Moon.”

Although the initial topic of the talks will be the PyeongChang Games, South Korea is also preparing measures for other issues ― whether they are discussed at today’s talks or probable future talks ― according to Baik.

“While discussing how to improve inter-Korean relations, the two sides may talk about reunions of separated families or ways to ease military tension on the Korean Peninsula; so we prepared for these as well,” Cho said.

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha also hinted the government would seek to use the North’s participation in the sporting event to build momentum for improving inter-Korean relations and link it with the international society’s diplomatic efforts for denuclearization.

“Beyond North Korea’s PyeongChang participation, the government is planning close cooperation with the international community to improve inter-Korean relations and denuclearize the North,” she said.

Ahead of the talks, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea called on opposition parties to cooperate for the “first step toward peace on the Korean Peninsula,” instead of raising objections for objections’ sake.

“We need active bipartisan support to ease the tension on the peninsula which has been escalating due to the North’s nuclear and missile provocations,” said Rep. Kang Hoon-sik, a party spokesman. “Dropping political strategies, the opposition bloc is required to refrain from unnecessary political offenses and join hands in the government’s efforts to recover inter-Korean relations.”

The conservative opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP), however, said denuclearizing North Korea should be prioritized over holding the PyeongChang Olympics peacefully.

“Negotiations are a prerequisite for talks, and in negotiations, concessions are made. But we can’t accept any concession that could break the international cooperation of pressure and sanctions on the North,” said Rep. Choung Tae-ok, an LKP spokesman. “By the North’s fake peace offensive in the PyeongChang participation, the nuclear issue, which is the prime matter in inter-Korean relations and peace in Northeast Asia, is being forgotten.”