ROK, DPRK agree to hold govt meeting

SEOUL/PYONGYANG - South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) have agreed to hold a government meeting in Seoul on Wednesday and Thursday to resolve inter-Korean issues that can help ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula, media reported Monday.

The decision was made at the working-level talks between the two sides conducted at the border village of Panmunjom, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

Head of ROK delegation for an inter-Korean working-level talks, Chun Hae-sung (R) shakes hands with his DPRK counterpart Kim Song-hye before their talks in Panmunjom, June 9, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

The two sides have reached partial understanding at the talks, which opened the way for formal talks to be held between both governments for the first time in several years, the report said.

After a 17-hour negotiation, 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 respectively the delegations," Yonhap quoted an official with South Korean Unification Ministry as saying.

The meeting will discuss issues such as normalizing the operation of the Kaesong Industrial Zone, resuming the tours of Mount Kumgang and reunion of families separated by the Korean War, DPRK's official KCNA news agency reported.

The meeting will also cover the issue of jointly celebrating the anniversaries of the June 15 South-North Joint Declaration and the July 4 1972 North-South Joint Statement, the report said.

Each delegation to the upcoming talks will comprise five delegates. The delegation of the north side will be headed by minister-level authorities and will travel to the south overland on the west coast, the report said.

According to the Yonhap report, Seoul said it will send Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae and expect Kim Yang Gon, secretary of the Central Committee of the DPRK Workers' Party of Korea, at the talks.

The DPRK on Thursday proposed holding inter-governmental meetings with South Korea on inter-Korean issues. The latter accepted the proposal the same day, hoping the talks will become an opportunity to help forge trust.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have intensified since the DPRK launched a rocket on December 12, 2012 and conducted its third nuclear test on February 12, which drew international condemnation.

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on March 7, demanding that the DPRK should not proceed with any further nuclear tests, give up any nuclear arms program and return to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Meanwhile, the United States and South Korea started their two-month joint military exercises on March 1, which was strongly protested by the DPRK.

The DPRK vowed to nullify an armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War from March 11, and warned of more and stronger countermeasures if the United States and South Korea continued joint military drills.

Tensions have escalated sharply on the Korean Peninsula as the U.S. Air Force's B-2 stealth bombers conducted its first-ever firing drill in South Korea on March 28.

On May 24, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Choe Ryong Hae, the special envoy of DPRK leader Kim Jong Un.

At the meeting, Xi called on all parties concerned to remain calm and with restraint, ease the situation and restart the process of the six-party talks, to achieve denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and safeguard peace and stability in Northeast Asia.

Choe said the DPRK is ready to work with parties concerned to properly solve relevant issues through multiform dialogue and consultation, including the six-party talks.

The six-party talks, which group the DPRK, South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, were launched in 2003 but stalled in December 2008.

On the Panmunjom talks held Sunday and Monday, the Yonhap news agency quoted South Korea's presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae as saying that it carefully monitored the developments at the talks.

It added that South Korean President Park Geun-hye 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 between U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Sunnylands, California.

During his talks with Obama, Xi reaffirmed China's persistence in keeping peace and stability on the Korean Peninsular and in realizing denuclearization there.

China adheres to the principle that the issue be solved through dialogue and consultation and it will continue to make unremitting efforts toward a solution, Xi said.