North Korean officials return to joint liaison office

Seen above is the inter-Korean liaison office in Gaeseong, North Korea. Yonhap

By Lee Min-hyung

• Published Mar 25, 2019 5:10 PM KST
• Updated Mar 25, 2019 6:45 PM KST

By Lee Min-hyung

Some North Korean staff returned to the inter-Korean liaison office in Gaeseong, Monday, three days after Pyongyang made an abrupt decision to pull out all of its personnel there, according to the unification ministry.

“At around 8:10 a.m., some North Korean officials came back to work at the office,” an official from the Ministry of Unification said.

He added that the inter-Korean communication channel was now again working properly. The North delivered its willingness to cooperate in joint projects with the South in line with a series of recent inter-Korean agreements, the official said.

The reason behind the sudden change of stance has not been confirmed, the ministry said. As of Monday afternoon, four to five North Korean officials were known to be working at the office.

The latest move from Pyongyang came two days after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the withdrawal of additional sanctions on the regime Friday (Washington local time). The order came after the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on two Chinese shipping firms, Thursday, for helping the regime avoid international economic sanctions.

The reconciliatory gesture from Trump is expected to have had an effect on the North in reversing its recent decision.

The unification ministry said it would make details public after holding discussions with the North. Pyongyang has yet to issue any reports on the latest decision through its propaganda media outlets.

In recent weeks, the North has shown signs of returning to the past by ramping up provocative rhetoric against the U.S., passing the buck for the breakdown of their recent summit in Hanoi.

Last month, Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sought to reach a possible nuclear “big deal” in the Vietnamese capital, but failed to sign anything due to lingering differences on methods and timelines for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Outlook for inter-Korean projects remains uncertain

Despite the partial restoration of the liaison office, the two Koreas are putting joint reconciliatory projects on hold, as the North still remains passive about talks with the South.

The planned joint projects include the excavation of 1950-53 Korean War remains near the border area and video reunions of divided families separated by the war.

However, Seoul is in a position to keep in contact with the North to resume their dialogue momentum.

Even while the unification ministry still raises hopes for the resumption of dialogue, the regime in the North is remaining silent over planned joint military and reconciliatory activities.

For seven months from April 1 this year, the two Koreas are scheduled to excavate war remains from Arrow Hill, an upland area in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province. For the smooth progress of the project, both sides finished clearing landmines in the area last year.

But it remains unknown whether they will push ahead with the project, as North Korea has remained unresponsive. Earlier this month, the Ministry of National Defense sent a list of officials to participate in the work to the North, but has yet to receive a response.

Last September, the two Koreas reached the Comprehensive Military Agreement during the latest inter-Korean summit. Under the agreement, the two Koreas agreed to push ahead with the project from the beginning of next month.

“The defense ministry could continue coming up with detailed measures to carry out the joint project as planned,” a military official said.

The likelihood of the two Koreas holding the video reunions of separated families also remains uncertain considering the latest unpredictable behavior by the North.