Most Popular
-
6
Chaos unfolds as rare November snowstorm grips Korea for 2nd day
-
7
BOK makes surprise 2nd rate cut to boost growth
-
8
‘VCHA, Katseye and Dear Alice are not K-pop groups,’ industry experts say
-
9
11 injured in 53-car pileup on icy road in Wonju
-
10
[Graphic News] South Koreans favor Japan for repeat overseas trips
![[Graphic News] South Koreans favor Japan for repeat overseas trips](//res.heraldm.com/phpwas/restmb_idxmake.php?idx=644&simg=/content/image/2024/11/27/20241127050101_0.gif&u=)
![[Graphic News] South Koreans favor Japan for repeat overseas trips](http://res.heraldm.com/phpwas/restmb_idxmake.php?idx=644&simg=/content/image/2024/11/27/20241127050101_0.gif&u=)
S. Korea to focus on holding further inter-Korean talks after Olympics
By YonhapPublished : Feb. 25, 2018 - 11:11
South Korea's unification ministry said Sunday that it will make efforts to hold further talks with North Korea as the PyeongChang Winter Olympics helped revive momentum for inter-Korean dialogue.
The ministry also said that there should be progress over the resolution of North Korea's nuclear issue for better inter-Korean ties and that the South is ready to work as a mediator to expedite talks between the US and North Korea.
"Without hurrying, Seoul will make efforts to improve inter-Korean ties step by step," the Ministry of Unification said in a report assessing the North's participation in the Feb. 9-25 games.
The two Koreas have engaged in a flurry of sports diplomacy since North Korean leader Kim Jong-un expressed a willingness to send a delegation to the Olympics in his New Year's message.
The North has sent nearly 500 people, including athletes, musicians, cheerleaders to the PyeongChang Games. The two Koreas saw their athletes jointly march under a unified flag at the opening ceremony and fielded a joint women's ice hockey team.
North Korea dispatched a high-level delegation that includes Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of Kim Jong-un from Feb. 9-11 to attend the Olympics' opening ceremony.
As a special envoy, Kim Yo-jong delivered her brother's letter to President Moon Jae-in on Feb. 10 which contained an invitation for the South's leader to come to Pyongyang for a possible summit at an early date.
Moon called for creating conditions for such a meeting, apparently referring to the need to resume talks between the US and the North.
The ministry said that the South will seek to dispatch a special envoy to North Korea and push for various inter-Korean meetings, including high-level or military talks.
It also said that though North Korea has yet to show any change in its stance toward denuclearization, the Olympics-driven rapprochement reaffirmed that Washington and Pyongyang do not reject the need for dialogue itself.
Some experts said that the North's charm offensive is aimed at weakening international sanctions and driving a wedge in the Seoul-Washington alliance.
To facilitate the North's participation in the games, the South briefly eased its unilateral sanctions on the North. It also sought cooperation with the US and the international community to get a temporary exemption from multilayered sanctions for blacklisted North Koreans so they could come to the Olympics. (Yonhap)
