Inter-Korean liaison office opens in Gaeseong
By Kim Bo-eun
The much-awaited inter-Korean liaison office will open Friday in the North Korean city of Gaeseong, the Ministry of Unification said Wednesday.
The office will house resident representatives at the now-closed joint industrial complex ahead of the upcoming summit between the leaders of the two Koreas in the North's capital of Pyongyang, from September 18 to 20.
The unification ministry said the office will become the first channel enabling around the clock contact between the two Koreas.
“We are hoping that through this communication, we will be able to stably manage inter-Korean relations, and this will contribute to bringing progress in the denuclearization talks between North Korea and the U.S.,” ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun said in a media briefing.
The opening of the office comes as Seoul extends its engagement with Pyongyang.
While some say there appears to be a widening “rift” between Washington and Seoul over specifics on how to achieve the North's denuclearization, the foreign ministry said Tuesday that the office is a result of consultation with the United States given the North's unavailability to get financial support from the international community.
The unification ministry said Seoul will be in charge of supplying electricity and other amenities to the office.
The liaison office will be co-headed by South Korea's Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung, and a North Korean official of comparable level. They will have a meeting once a week, while working-level talks will be held on a frequent basis “as necessary,” the ministry said.
About 20 South Korean officials and 10 assisting personnel will work there, from Monday through Friday, and after-hours personnel will be on standby. The South Korean officials will stay at the office's accommodation facilities throughout the week. This will facilitate more inter-Korean contact, compared to the existing separate contact offices at the truce village of Panmunjeom, a ministry official said.
This will be the first time for officials of the South and North to work together in the same building. South Koreans will work on the second floor and North Koreans on the fourth. The third floor will be used for inter-Korean meetings. South Korean officials will be dispatched from the unification and culture ministries, and the Korea Forest Service.
The number of South Korean officials working at the office may be increased, and there will be additional workers in charge of food services and equipment.
The joint contact office is one of the agreements reached between Moon and Kim at their April 27 summit.
The office will have the role of promoting inter-Korean contact, hosting meetings, as well as civilian exchanges, and assisting South Koreans visiting the North.
The office will assist in economic, social, cultural and humanitarian exchanges, host events and enable cooperative-studies. It will also prepare for inter-Korean projects such as restoring forests in the North, and conducting studies on railway and roads there.
Chief delegates of the South and North will sign an agreement on the composition and management of the contact office Friday, and it will immediately begin operation.
An opening ceremony will be held with 50 to 60 participants from the government, National Assembly, academia, civic groups and institutions in charge of inter-Korean affairs from the South and North attending.
Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon and his counterpart Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland Chairman Ri Son-gwon will be present.
The opening of the office was delayed after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to Pyongyang for denuclearization talks was postponed. The U.S. is seen to be disapproving of advancing inter-Korean projects amid a lack of progress in denuclearization by North Korea.