Developing | North and South Korea agree to military talks, Pyongyang to send large delegation to Winter Olympics
The rivals held their first official dialogue in two years in Panmunjeom, a village in the Joint Security Area along their heavily fortified border
North and South Korea on Tuesday agreed to start negotiations and military talks aimed at averting conflict and defusing tensions, after their first official dialogue in more than two years, and as Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme fuels tension.
In a joint statement after the 11-hour talks, the North pledged to send a large delegation to next month’s Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in the South, but made a “strong complaint” after Seoul proposed talks to denuclearise the Korean peninsula.
South Korea asked its neighbour to halt hostile acts that stoke tension on the peninsula, and in return, the North agreed that peace should be guaranteed in the region, the South’s unification ministry said in a separate statement.
The talks had been closely watched by world leaders keen for any sign of a reduction in tension, as fears grow over the North’s missile launches and development of nuclear weapons, in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Earlier on Tuesday, Seoul said it was prepared to lift some sanctions temporarily so that North Korean officials could visit the South for the Games. The North said its delegation would comprise athletes, high-ranking officials, a cheering squad, art performers as well as reporters and spectators.