Rare ROK-DPRK agreement greenlights family reunions

High-level talks between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea ended on Friday with a rare agreement to go ahead as planned with a reunion for divided families, despite the DPRK's objections to overlapping ROK-US military drills.

Following the second round of inter-governmental talks, both sides also agreed to stop making slanderous remarks about each other and to boost mutual confidence, according to a joint statement read to reporters in Seoul by ROK's chief negotiations delegate Kim Kyou-hyun.

They agreed to hold more high-level talks at a later date and make continued efforts to improve their relations, the statement said.

The agreement, which was carried by the DPRK's official KCNA News Agency, pointed to a significant concession by the DPRK, which had wanted the ROK to postpone the Feb 24 start of its annual military drills with the US until after the reunion.

The ROK refused, arguing that the two issues - one humanitarian and one military - should not be linked.

The apparent concession and the commitment to continue what has been the highest-level official contact between the two countries since 2007, has fueled hopes that they might be entering a period of genuinely constructive engagement.

"Agreement was reached today after North Korea accepted our position that the family reunion event is important as the first step to build trust," Kim said.

It followed two days of talks on Wednesday and Friday in the border truce village of Panmunjom, where the armistice ending the 1950-53 Korean War was signed.

The dialogue was the first substantive follow-up to statements by the leaders of both countries - ROK President Park Geun-hye and the DPRK's Kim Jong-un - professing a desire for improved inter-Korean ties.

There already had been signs of a shift in the DPRK's position at Wednesday's first round, when it demanded that the military drills be postponed - a change from its usual position that they be canceled entirely.

Seoul's unequivocal rejection of any change to the drills' schedule because of the family reunion was lent weight Thursday by visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry.

Addressing a news briefing in Seoul, Kerry urged Pyongyang to act with "human decency" and not try to use "one (issue) as an excuse to somehow condition the other".

Millions of Koreans were separated by the Korean war, and the vast majority have since died without having had any communication with surviving relatives.

Kerry left for China on Friday morning following his brief stop in Seoul, where he had focused on efforts to curb the DPRK's nuclear weapons program with Park and other officials.

While welcoming the DPRK-ROK talks, Kerry stressed that Washington was not ready to accede to Pyongyang's demand that it become involved in direct negotiations.

"We've been through that exercise previously; we want to know that this is real," he said, adding that the DPRK must take "meaningful action" toward denuclearization before a dialogue can begin.

"The US will not accept talks for the sake of talks," he said.

China and the DPRK have urged resumption of the stalled Six-Party Talks on the DPRK's nuclear program, but the ROK and US have resisted.

During his visit to China, Kerry indicated that he will push Beijing to do more to rein in Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.

AFP - Xinhua

(China Daily 02/15/2014 page7)