S.Korea, DPRK to hold high-level talks on Monday

Talks

Seoul, Aug. 9, 2018 (Xinhua/NAN) South Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Thursday, agreed to hold high-level talks on Monday at the border village of Panmunjom, according to the Unification Ministry.

The DPRK offered to hold the senior-level dialogue with South Korea at Tongilgak, a DPRK building in Panmunjom, to implement the Panmunjom Declaration.

The South Korean side accepted the dialogue overtures to review the implementation of the declaration, signed by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un at their first summit on April 27 in Panmunjom.

The two leaders met again in Panmunjom on May 26 before the DPRK-U.S. summit on June 12 in Singapore.

The DPRK side also proposed to discuss preparations for the next inter-Korean summit meeting which Moon and Kim agreed to hold in Pyongyang, during the upcoming high-level talks between the two Koreas.

“The South Korean delegation will be led by Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon,” the statement said.

The ministry said South Korea planned to make an in-depth discussion with the DPRK side over issues.

This it said was necessary to successfully hold the inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang and ways to speed up the implementation of the Panmunjom Declaration.

Local media speculated that another inter-Korean summit might be held as early as late August or early September to facilitate the denuclearisation process of the Korean Peninsula.

The ministry said the South Korean government would make best efforts to speedily implement the declaration via continued dialogue and cooperation.

It said that it would also continue to pursue sustainable development in inter-Korean relations and building a permanent peace regime on the peninsula. (Xinhua/NAN)

OYE/DUA

Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Dada Ahmed