Korean diplomacy intensifies as North and South open joint liaison office at Kaesong, near shared border
The office is at the site of the Kaesong industrial complex, where for about a decade, South Korean companies ran production lines staffed by North Korean workers at the industrial park
North and South Korea opened a liaison office on the North’s side of their heavily militarised border on Friday, setting up a permanent channel of communication as part of a flurry of efforts to end their decades-old rivalry.
Steps by North and South Korea to improve their relations are running parallel to a bid by the United States and its allies to press North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.
The opening of the joint liaison office at Kaesong, just inside the North Korean side of the border, comes days before North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in are due to hold their third meeting this year.
“The two sides are now able to take a large step toward peace, prosperity and unification of the Korean peninsula by quickly and frankly discussing issues arising from inter-Korean relations,” said Ri Son-gwon, the head of North Korea’s delegation at the opening ceremony.
The two Koreas previously communicated by fax and special telephone lines, which were often severed when their relations took a turn for the worse.
Now they will now be able to “directly discuss issues 24 hours, 365 days”, South Korea’s Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said at the ceremony.
The office will be staffed by up to 20 people each from the two sides with the South Koreans on the second floor and the North Koreans on the fourth floor of the four-storey building.
The two sides are now able to take a large step toward peace, prosperity and unification of the Korean peninsula