Inter-Korea Talks Started
South Korea and North Korea held a high-level meeting at the Panmunjom on January 9. At the meeting, North Korea said that it would send a large team to the 2018 Winter Olympics and the team would include not only players but also reporters, visitors, Taekwondo performers and so on. South Korea proposed a joint parade at the opening ceremony and North Korea did not refuse.
Minister of Unification Cho Myoung-gyon, who represented the South Korean side at the meeting, proposed military talks for the prevention of accidental clashes and a Red Cross conference for family reunion, claiming that the two Koreas need to resume their talks for peace in the Korean Peninsula.
It is said that North Korea showed no particular response to the proposal in the morning. Still, the North said that it restored the military communication line in the Yellow Sea area and the South is planning to put wired military communication back into operation at 8:00 a.m., January 10.
After the general meeting in the morning, the chief delegates of both sides had their meeting for about an hour from 11:30 a.m. Vice Minister of Unification Chun Hae-sung explained that the meeting between the chief delegates was for detailed discussions based on the results of the general meeting and that the chief delegates agreed to try to mend fences by utilizing the winter Olympics as an opportunity. The vice minister also remarked that the North did not clearly mention issues such as North Korea sanctions and the Kaesong Industrial Complex.