장관급 회담을 위해 9일 오전 판문점에서 열린 남북 당국간 실무접촉은 협조적인 분위기 속에 출발했지만, 일부 쟁점에서의 이견이 걸림돌이 돼 막판 밤샘 진통을 거듭했다.

통신 장비 설치 관계로 예정 시각인 오전 10시를 조금 지난 10시13분께 시작된 전체회의에서 양측이 모두발언을 통해 장관급 회담의 실무적 사안에 대한 각자 입장을 전달하고 11시 정각에 오전 일정을 마칠 때만 해도 순조로운 분위기였다.

김형석 통일부 대변인은 오전 회담 종료 후 브리핑에서 "현재까진 별다른 논쟁 없이 차분하게 실무접촉에 걸맞은 협의를 진행했다"면서 순항을 알렸다.

양측은 오전 회담을 통해 '오는 12일 서울에서 장관급 회담을 개최한다'는데 뜻을 같이하는 것을 확인하고 점심식사 후 오후 2시부터 시작된 수석대표회담에서 각자 마련한 합의문을 서로 교환하며 구체적인 실무 조율 작업에 착수했다.

그러나 이 과정에서 양측이 장관급 회담의 의제와 북측 대표단 구성 등 실무적인 사안을 놓고 미묘한 의견 차이를 좀처럼 좁히지 못하면서 회담은 난항을 겪기 시 작했다.

양측은 이날 오후부터 다음 날 새벽까지 모두 8번의 수석대표회의와 1번의 전체 회의를 추가로 열어 한 걸음씩 의견 접근을 시도하면서 합의문 문구를 조율했다.

회담 후 상대방의 요구 사항을 반영한 합의문을 각각 서울과 평양으로 보내 지시를 받고, 이를 바탕으로 수정한 합의문을 협상 테이블로 들고 와 다시 협의를 이어가는 방식이다.

결국 10일 새벽 3시40분이 돼서야 판문점 우리 측 대표단으로부터 마지막 전체 회의가 끝났다는 소식이 들려왔다.

당국간 회담으로는 2년 4개월여만에 재개된 이날 남북 실무접촉이 회담 시작 18 시간여 만에 어렵사리 내놓은 결과물이었지만, 애초 기대한 합의문이 아니라 일부 항목에서 남북이 각자 의견을 고집한 발표문의 형태였다.

이날 회담에서는 '여성 대남일꾼'으로 관심을 끈 북측 수석대표 김성혜 조국평화통일위원회(조평통) 서기국 부장도 모습을 드러냈다.

통일부가 이날 촬영해 공개한 영상을 보면 김 부장은 청록색 투피스 정장에 흰색 가방을 든 차림으로 북측 대표단을 이끌고 오전 9시40분께 판문점 군사분계선을 건넜다.

곧바로 회의 장소인 판문점 우리 측 '평화의 집'으로 들어선 김 부장은 미소를 띤 얼굴로 "반갑습니다"라고 인사하며 미리 현관에서 기다리던 천해성 통일부 통일정책실장을 비롯한 우리 측 대표단 3명과 차례로 악수를 했다.

회의장에서 양측이 서로 마주 앉은 자리에서 천 실장이 먼저 "오랜만에 하는 회 담이다. 날씨가 좋은데 더운 날씨에 오시느라 고생이 많았다"며 인사를 건네자 김 부장은 "몇 년 만에 진행되는 회담인데 더운 날씨든 추운 날씨든 날씨에 크게 개의치 않는다"고 답했다고 통일부는 전했다.

김 부장은 "어제 (판문점 근처로) 내려왔다. 평화의 집은 처음 와 본다"고 말했다.

북측 대표단은 김일성•김정일 부자의 사진이 나란히 실린 배지를 왼쪽 가슴에 달아 태극기 배지를 부착한 우리 대표단과 대조를 이뤘다.

이날 양측 대표단의 점심과 저녁식사는 우리 측 '평화의 집' 내부 식당에서 이뤄진 것으로 알려졌다.

 

<관련 영문 기사>

Two Koreas agree to hold government meeting in Seoul

South and North Korea came to an agreement Monday to hold an official government meeting between "responsible authorities" in Seoul later this week with the aim of resolving pressing inter-Korean issues that can help build mutual trust and ease uncertainties on the Korean Peninsula.

The Ministry of Unification said in a statement released after a marathon negotiation lasting 17 hours that the two sides reached a partial understanding on outstanding issues at the working-level talks carried out at the truce village of Panmunjom.

The understanding reached opens the way for formal talks to be held between government authorities of both countries for the first time in several years.

The statement said Seoul and Pyongyang agreed to hold talks for two days starting on Wednesday, and that the official title of the gathering has been changed to the South and North Korean governments meeting. Originally the South called for a ministerial meeting.

The two sides concurred on the North Korean delegation arriving in the South by land, and that additional details of the planned talks are to be discussed through the liaison channels that run through Panmunjom.

Despite the long, drawn-out talks, the two sides failed to see eye-to-eye on what agendas should be fixed in the upcoming discussions and who will lead the delegations for the two sides.

"The two sides reached a compromise that allows Seoul and Pyongyang to release two separate statements reflecting their respective views on what should be discussed as agendas in the two-day talks and who should lead the respectively delegations," a ministry official said.

He said South Korea's position called for pressing matters such as the Kaesong Industrial Complex, Mount Kumgang tours and reunions for families separated by the Korean War (1950-53), while the North emphasized the need to arrange joint celebrations involving non-government groups. The communist country had called for the joint hosting of celebratory events to mark the 13th anniversary of the June 15 South-North Joint Declaration and the 1972 July 4th North-South Joint Statement.

Seoul has banned its citizens from going to the North to take part in the June 15 event since 2008. It sees the event as a ploy by the North to fuel internal discord in the South.

The North also said that it will send a "senior official" as the chief delegate, while Seoul wanted a person who has the authority and stature to touch on and resolve outstanding issues.

South Korea said it will send Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae and wanted Kim Yang-gon, the head of the North's United Front Department of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, at the talks. Kim is viewed as being the top official in Pyongyang for South Korean affairs.

Related to the talks, an official at the ministry who did not wished to be identified said that Seoul's insistence on Kim attending as chief delegate and inclusion of the June 15 celebration in the formal statement delayed the conclusion of talks.

"In the end the two sides opted to get over their differences by skirting the difficult issues," he said, admitting that the issues could be a problem when the meeting does take place. He declined to say if Seoul will bring up denuclearization at the future talks.

There has been speculation that Seoul will ask for assurances from the North that would make it difficult for the communist country to unilaterally close the Kaesong complex and to win an apology for the shooting death of a tourist in 2008 that stopped the Mount Kumgang tours. Operation at Kaesong came to a stop after the North pulled all of its laborers from the complex on April 9.

The working-level meeting came after the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK) called for working-level talks Friday following its earlier proposal to hold government-level talks to resolve various inter-Korean issues.

Seoul accepted the government-to-government talks and countered by asking for a ministerial-level meeting so all key issues could be discussed by responsible officials.

Chun Hae-sung, head of the unification ministry's policy bureau, led the three-person South Korean delegation at the truce village. Leading the talks for the North was Kim Song-hye, an official at the CPRK with extensive experience in dealing with the South. She is one of the few female officials at the CPRK with experience in handling inter-Korean talks.

Related to the talks, the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae said it carefully monitored the developments at Panmunjom.

The Cheong Wa Dae added that President Park is expected to chair a meeting of security and foreign affairs ministers later in the day to reflect ongoing efforts by Seoul and Pyongyang to resolve outstanding issues through dialogue and review the recent summit meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The two leaders confirmed that they will not accept North Korea as a nuclear power, despite insistence by Pyongyang that it will never give up is nuclear capability.

The communist country detonated its third nuclear device on Feb. 12 and claimed it has successfully miniaturized its nuclear arsenal.

Political observers in Seoul, meanwhile, speculate that if ministerial talks do take place and progress is made, North Korean representatives may be able to meet the South Korean president.

"There is precedence for such a meeting taking place, that could allow North Korea to convey the wishes of their leader Kim Jong-un to the South Korean chief executive," an expert said. This, he claimed, would be a sort of "indirect summit" that could lay the foundation for trust building down the road. (Yonhap News)