Positive talks signal thaw in relations

DPRK will send delegation to the ROK-hosted Winter Olympics

SEOUL - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea offered on Tuesday to send a high-ranking delegation as well as athletes and cheering squads to the ROK-hosted Winter Olympics, heralding a thaw in inter-Korean relations.

During the inter-Korean talks, which started earlier in the day in the truce village of Panmunjom, the ROK side asked the DPRK to dispatch many of its athletes and cheering squads to the 2018 Winter Olympics, according to Seoul's Unification Ministry.

The DPRK side responded more positively, saying it would dispatch its high-ranking delegation, members of the National Olympic Committee, athletes, cheering squads, a performing arts team, a demonstration team for traditional martial art taekwondo, visitors as well as press corps.

The two countries also agreed to hold a separate dialogue between their military authorities after agreeing that they should make joint efforts to ease military tensions.

During the session, the ROK proposed holding a Red Cross dialogue for the reunion of separated families during the upcoming Lunar New Year in February as well as inter-Korean talks between the military authorities to prevent possible accidental clashes near the military demarcation line.

Talks with Pyongyang about humanitarian and military issues were previously suggested by Seoul in July.

The reunion of the families divided as a result of the 1950-53 Korean War was an emotionally-charged issue as it was rarely held because of the political situation.

People from the two countries have been banned from visiting and contacting each other since the war ended in armistice instead of a peace treaty. The peninsula remains technically in a state of war.

Seoul also offered to resume talks with the DPRK to stop any hostile act on the peninsula and build peace by rapidly denuclearizing the peninsula.

In response, Pyongyang said issues should be resolved through dialogue to promote reconciliation and unity and secure peace on the peninsula.

Seoul's Unification Ministry said the two sides exchanged broad, in-depth opinions.

The five-member ROK delegation was led by Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, while five delegates from the DPRK were headed by Ri Songwon, chief of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland.