Inter-Korean Talks

[Anchor Lead]

South Korea is still waiting for a response from North Korea on whether it will take part in high-ranking inter-Korean talks Seoul proposed for next Tuesday. North Korea did announce Wednesday that it would re-open the inter-Korean communication channel in a promising sign. The South had quickly offered talks on Tuesday after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s conciliatory remarks in his New Year’s Day address.

[Pkg]

Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon has proposed to North Korea that high-level inter-Korean talks be held in six days.

[Soundbite] Cho Myoung-gyon(Minister of Unification) : "With the Winter Olympics just about one month away, we have offered Pyongyang to hold high-level inter-Korean talks on Jan. 9 in Panmunjom."

The unification minister has also urged Pyongyang to swiftly restore contact via the communication channel at the truce village of Panmunjom.

[Soundbite] Cho Myoung-gyon(Minister of Unification) : "We have offered Pyongyang to discuss the details of the talks such as the agenda and delegations via our contact channel at Panmunjom. We hope that the North will respond positively."

Cho said Seoul had not contacted Pyongyang prior to offering to hold high-level talks. He added that should Pyongyang make its own proposition regarding when, where and how to hold the talks, he will consider it positively. Regarding whether or not Seoul had discussed the matter with Washington, the unification minister said that the two sides have been discussing it closely. As for the issue of denuclearization, Cho said that once the two Koreas sit at the negotiating table, Seoul will try to convey its nuclear concerns to Pyongyang given the seriousness of the nuclear threat on the Korean Peninsula. The unification minister said he had nothing to add concerning the postponement of the joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises at this point, and that it is the South Korean and U.S. militaries that will make the final decision.