The two Koreas unexpectedly reached a snap agreement Thursday on opening a dialogue, with South Korea responding to a North initiative by offering a ministerial-level meeting in Seoul on June 12.A spokesman for Pyongyang's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK) welcomed the South's quick response, and suggested initial lower-level talks Sunday in the Kaesong joint industrial zone.The North shut down Kaesong, which lies just over its side of the border, in April as the recent crisis on the divided peninsula peaked. Reopening the joint complex will top the agenda for the proposed dialogue."Working-level contact... is necessary prior to ministerial-level talks proposed by the South, in light of the prevailing situation in which bilateral relations have stalemated for years and mistrust has reached an extreme," the CPRK spokesman said.South Korea's Unification Ministry said it was "studying" the offer.The hotline, suspended by the North in March as military tensions flared, will be restored from 2:00 pm (0500 GMT) Friday, the CPRK spokesman added.The Red Cross link runs through the border truce village of Panmunjom and has long been a vital source of government-to-government communication in the absence of diplomatic relations.The last working level talks between the two countries were held in February 2011, and there have been no inter-Korean talks at the ministerial level since 2007.The agreement on resuming a dialogue, came just ahead of Friday's summit between US President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, at which the North's nuclear programme will be high on the agenda.North Korea's nuclear test in February resulted in tightened UN sanctions and triggered the cycle of escalating tensions that saw Pyongyang threaten pre-emptive nuclear strikes against the Unites States and South Korea.China, the North's sole major ally and economic benefactor, has been under pressure from the United States to restrain its neighbour, and both Washington and Beijing welcomed the tentative talks agreement.Yoo Ho-Yeol, a North Korea expert at Korea University in Seoul, said North Korea's surprise shift towards talks signalled a desire to initiate a wider dialogue in the future that "would eventually include the United States".But US State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki made it clear that North Korea would have to show some commitment towards abandoning its nuclear weapons programme before the US got involved."There remain a number of steps that the North Koreans need to take, including abiding by their international obligations... in order to have further discussion," Psaki told reporters.Pyongyang has repeatedly insisted that its nuclear deterrent is not up for negotiation.The proposed agenda for the North-South talks involves the re-opening of Kaesong, the resumption of tours to the North's Mount Kumkang resort and renewed cross-border family reunions.The Kaesong complex, established in 2004 as a symbol of inter-Korean cooperation, was the most high-profile casualty of the recent tensions.Operations ground to a halt after the North pulled all its 53,000 workers out in early April. The South withdrew its managers and officials soon afterwards.South Korean President Park Geun-Hye had called weeks ago for talks on Kaesong, but the North had rejected the offer.Park, who took office in February just days after the North's nuclear test, has pushed a "trust-building" policy with Pyongyang.However, in tandem with the United States, she has stressed that substantive talks would require North Korean steps towards denuclearisation."I hope this will serve as a momentum for South and North Korea to solve various pending issues," Park said Thursday after the talks proposal was announced.UN chief Ban Ki-moon -- a former foreign minister of South Korea -- also welcomed what he called an "encouraging development".Tuoitrenews
N. Korea to reopen hotline with South, offers early talks
North Korea said Friday it would restore a hotline with South Korea and proposed holding weekend talks in a border town, as the two rivals sought to dial down months of soaring military tensions. The two Koreas unexpectedly reached a snap agreement Thursday on opening a dialogue, with South Korea responding to a North initiative by offering a ministerial-level meeting in Seoul on June 12.A spokesman for Pyongyang's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK) welcomed the South's quick response, and suggested initial lower-level talks Sunday in the Kaesong joint industrial zone.The North shut down Kaesong, which lies just over its side of the border, in April as the recent crisis on the divided peninsula peaked. Reopening the joint complex will top the agenda for the proposed dialogue."Working-level contact... is necessary prior to ministerial-level talks proposed by the South, in light of the prevailing situation in which bilateral relations have stalemated for years and mistrust has reached an extreme," the CPRK spokesman said.South Korea's Unification Ministry said it was "studying" the offer.The hotline, suspended by the North in March as military tensions flared, will be restored from 2:00 pm (0500 GMT) Friday, the CPRK spokesman added.The Red Cross link runs through the border truce village of Panmunjom and has long been a vital source of government-to-government communication in the absence of diplomatic relations.The last working level talks between the two countries were held in February 2011, and there have been no inter-Korean talks at the ministerial level since 2007.The agreement on resuming a dialogue, came just ahead of Friday's summit between US President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, at which the North's nuclear programme will be high on the agenda.North Korea's nuclear test in February resulted in tightened UN sanctions and triggered the cycle of escalating tensions that saw Pyongyang threaten pre-emptive nuclear strikes against the Unites States and South Korea.China, the North's sole major ally and economic benefactor, has been under pressure from the United States to restrain its neighbour, and both Washington and Beijing welcomed the tentative talks agreement.Yoo Ho-Yeol, a North Korea expert at Korea University in Seoul, said North Korea's surprise shift towards talks signalled a desire to initiate a wider dialogue in the future that "would eventually include the United States".But US State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki made it clear that North Korea would have to show some commitment towards abandoning its nuclear weapons programme before the US got involved."There remain a number of steps that the North Koreans need to take, including abiding by their international obligations... in order to have further discussion," Psaki told reporters.Pyongyang has repeatedly insisted that its nuclear deterrent is not up for negotiation.The proposed agenda for the North-South talks involves the re-opening of Kaesong, the resumption of tours to the North's Mount Kumkang resort and renewed cross-border family reunions.The Kaesong complex, established in 2004 as a symbol of inter-Korean cooperation, was the most high-profile casualty of the recent tensions.Operations ground to a halt after the North pulled all its 53,000 workers out in early April. The South withdrew its managers and officials soon afterwards.South Korean President Park Geun-Hye had called weeks ago for talks on Kaesong, but the North had rejected the offer.Park, who took office in February just days after the North's nuclear test, has pushed a "trust-building" policy with Pyongyang.However, in tandem with the United States, she has stressed that substantive talks would require North Korean steps towards denuclearisation."I hope this will serve as a momentum for South and North Korea to solve various pending issues," Park said Thursday after the talks proposal was announced.UN chief Ban Ki-moon -- a former foreign minister of South Korea -- also welcomed what he called an "encouraging development".Tuoitrenews
The two Koreas unexpectedly reached a snap agreement Thursday on opening a dialogue, with South Korea responding to a North initiative by offering a ministerial-level meeting in Seoul on June 12.A spokesman for Pyongyang's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK) welcomed the South's quick response, and suggested initial lower-level talks Sunday in the Kaesong joint industrial zone.The North shut down Kaesong, which lies just over its side of the border, in April as the recent crisis on the divided peninsula peaked. Reopening the joint complex will top the agenda for the proposed dialogue."Working-level contact... is necessary prior to ministerial-level talks proposed by the South, in light of the prevailing situation in which bilateral relations have stalemated for years and mistrust has reached an extreme," the CPRK spokesman said.South Korea's Unification Ministry said it was "studying" the offer.The hotline, suspended by the North in March as military tensions flared, will be restored from 2:00 pm (0500 GMT) Friday, the CPRK spokesman added.The Red Cross link runs through the border truce village of Panmunjom and has long been a vital source of government-to-government communication in the absence of diplomatic relations.The last working level talks between the two countries were held in February 2011, and there have been no inter-Korean talks at the ministerial level since 2007.The agreement on resuming a dialogue, came just ahead of Friday's summit between US President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, at which the North's nuclear programme will be high on the agenda.North Korea's nuclear test in February resulted in tightened UN sanctions and triggered the cycle of escalating tensions that saw Pyongyang threaten pre-emptive nuclear strikes against the Unites States and South Korea.China, the North's sole major ally and economic benefactor, has been under pressure from the United States to restrain its neighbour, and both Washington and Beijing welcomed the tentative talks agreement.Yoo Ho-Yeol, a North Korea expert at Korea University in Seoul, said North Korea's surprise shift towards talks signalled a desire to initiate a wider dialogue in the future that "would eventually include the United States".But US State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki made it clear that North Korea would have to show some commitment towards abandoning its nuclear weapons programme before the US got involved."There remain a number of steps that the North Koreans need to take, including abiding by their international obligations... in order to have further discussion," Psaki told reporters.Pyongyang has repeatedly insisted that its nuclear deterrent is not up for negotiation.The proposed agenda for the North-South talks involves the re-opening of Kaesong, the resumption of tours to the North's Mount Kumkang resort and renewed cross-border family reunions.The Kaesong complex, established in 2004 as a symbol of inter-Korean cooperation, was the most high-profile casualty of the recent tensions.Operations ground to a halt after the North pulled all its 53,000 workers out in early April. The South withdrew its managers and officials soon afterwards.South Korean President Park Geun-Hye had called weeks ago for talks on Kaesong, but the North had rejected the offer.Park, who took office in February just days after the North's nuclear test, has pushed a "trust-building" policy with Pyongyang.However, in tandem with the United States, she has stressed that substantive talks would require North Korean steps towards denuclearisation."I hope this will serve as a momentum for South and North Korea to solve various pending issues," Park said Thursday after the talks proposal was announced.UN chief Ban Ki-moon -- a former foreign minister of South Korea -- also welcomed what he called an "encouraging development".Tuoitrenews
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