North Korea has accepted South Korea’s proposal for official talks, in what will be the first high-level contact to take place between the two countries in more than two years.
South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun told reporters today North Korea informed its southern neighbor by fax today that they have accepted the South’s offer to initiate talks.
The person-to-person talks will be held January 9 — one day after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s birthday — at the Peace House, located on the South Korean side of the so-called truce village of Panmunjom, located in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two nations.
The two sides agreed to work on the details of the talks “through the exchange of documents,” Baik said, adding that the agenda items of the talks will be “issues related to improving inter-Korean relationships including the Pyeongchang (Winter) Olympic Games.”
Asked whether hotlines would be open on the weekend, he said he expected they would, as time to prepare for the first face-to-face meeting in over two years was running short.
According to CNN News, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) released a statement in which it said it “welcomes” talks aimed at having North Korean athletes compete in next month’s Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
