North and South Korea are holding a second round of high-level talks, with both sides looking for a compromise that would allow for the resumption of the reunion of families separated by the Korean War.
The talks Friday at the Panmunjom border village are a continuation of the highest level talks in seven years between the two foes, which technically remain in a state of war following their 1950s conflict.
At the first round of talks Wednesday, North Korea demanded Seoul and Washington delay joint military drills scheduled to occur around the same time as the family reunions later this month.
The North, which views the drills as preparations to invade, had previously called for the exercises to be cancelled. The U.S. and South Korea has said the drills are not aggressive in nature and must go on.
South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Eui-do on Friday echoed his government's position that the two issues remain separate.
"As we've already expressed several times, we reiterate the government's firm stance that the reunion of separated families and the U.S.-South Korean military drills are completely separate issues that cannot be linked," said Kim.
The war drills, known as Key Resolve and Foal Eagle, are set to begin February 24 and last for weeks. The family reunions are scheduled to occur between February 20-25.
In addition to its concern over the drills, the North also wants to resume lucrative South Korean tours to its Mount Kumgang resort area.
This is the first time senior North and South Korean officials have met since 2007.
The meeting was requested by Pyongyang, which has recently signaled it is ready to improve ties.
However, the South has insisted it will not do so unless North Korea agrees to take steps towards dismantling its nuclear weapons program.
It is not known whether the nuclear issue was among the topics to be discussed at this week's talks.
The talks Friday at the Panmunjom border village are a continuation of the highest level talks in seven years between the two foes, which technically remain in a state of war following their 1950s conflict.
At the first round of talks Wednesday, North Korea demanded Seoul and Washington delay joint military drills scheduled to occur around the same time as the family reunions later this month.
The North, which views the drills as preparations to invade, had previously called for the exercises to be cancelled. The U.S. and South Korea has said the drills are not aggressive in nature and must go on.
South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Eui-do on Friday echoed his government's position that the two issues remain separate.
"As we've already expressed several times, we reiterate the government's firm stance that the reunion of separated families and the U.S.-South Korean military drills are completely separate issues that cannot be linked," said Kim.
The war drills, known as Key Resolve and Foal Eagle, are set to begin February 24 and last for weeks. The family reunions are scheduled to occur between February 20-25.
In addition to its concern over the drills, the North also wants to resume lucrative South Korean tours to its Mount Kumgang resort area.
This is the first time senior North and South Korean officials have met since 2007.
The meeting was requested by Pyongyang, which has recently signaled it is ready to improve ties.
However, the South has insisted it will not do so unless North Korea agrees to take steps towards dismantling its nuclear weapons program.
It is not known whether the nuclear issue was among the topics to be discussed at this week's talks.
Source: Hindi News
No comments:
Post a Comment