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| At North’s Suggestion, Koreas Open Dialogue | At North’s Suggestion, Koreas Open Dialogue |
| (7 months later) | |
| SEOUL, South Korea — North and South Korea on Wednesday started their highest-level government dialogue since the North’s nuclear test last year prompted fears of armed conflict on the divided Korean Peninsula. | |
| The meeting at the truce village of Panmunjom on the border between the two Koreas was first suggested by the North, which has recently called repeatedly for better ties. The United States, whose secretary of state, John Kerry, travels to Seoul on Thursday, remains deeply skeptical, as does Seoul, about the motives of the North Korean government. | The meeting at the truce village of Panmunjom on the border between the two Koreas was first suggested by the North, which has recently called repeatedly for better ties. The United States, whose secretary of state, John Kerry, travels to Seoul on Thursday, remains deeply skeptical, as does Seoul, about the motives of the North Korean government. |
| American and South Korean officials have accused North Korea of using a charm offensive to draw its adversaries into dialogue and win concessions while distracting attention from its ever-expanding nuclear and long-range missile programs. | American and South Korean officials have accused North Korea of using a charm offensive to draw its adversaries into dialogue and win concessions while distracting attention from its ever-expanding nuclear and long-range missile programs. |
| Still, the meeting at Panmunjom gives senior South Korean officials a rare opportunity to gauge whether the North’s policies are shifting under its new leader, Kim Jong-un. Relations between the two countries reached a low point in 2010 when a South Korean Navy patrol ship sank, killing 46 sailors, in an explosion that the South blamed on a North Korean torpedo attack. | Still, the meeting at Panmunjom gives senior South Korean officials a rare opportunity to gauge whether the North’s policies are shifting under its new leader, Kim Jong-un. Relations between the two countries reached a low point in 2010 when a South Korean Navy patrol ship sank, killing 46 sailors, in an explosion that the South blamed on a North Korean torpedo attack. |
| The ties remained strained later that year, as the South curtailed trade and humanitarian aid to the North and the North attacked a South Korean island with artillery. The North further rattled the region by launching a long-range rocket in December 2012 and conducting its third nuclear test last February. When the United Nations Security Council tightened sanctions, the country lashed out with threats of nuclear war. | The ties remained strained later that year, as the South curtailed trade and humanitarian aid to the North and the North attacked a South Korean island with artillery. The North further rattled the region by launching a long-range rocket in December 2012 and conducting its third nuclear test last February. When the United Nations Security Council tightened sanctions, the country lashed out with threats of nuclear war. |
| North Korea has toned down its threats since last year, and in his New Year’s Day speech, Mr. Kim said he wanted to improve relations with the South. Responding to South Korea’s demand that it prove its sincerity with action, North Korea agreed last week to hold reunions this month in which hundreds of older Koreans would be allowed to meet their relatives for the first time since the three-year Korean War ended in 1953. | North Korea has toned down its threats since last year, and in his New Year’s Day speech, Mr. Kim said he wanted to improve relations with the South. Responding to South Korea’s demand that it prove its sincerity with action, North Korea agreed last week to hold reunions this month in which hundreds of older Koreans would be allowed to meet their relatives for the first time since the three-year Korean War ended in 1953. |
| The North had threatened to cancel the reunions, blaming the annual joint military exercises with the United States that the South was scheduled to start on Feb. 24. | The North had threatened to cancel the reunions, blaming the annual joint military exercises with the United States that the South was scheduled to start on Feb. 24. |
| “We approach today’s talks with an intention of probing for opportunities to open a new relationship on the Korean Peninsula,” Kim Kyu-hyun, the South’s chief delegate, told reporters in Seoul before heading to Panmunjom on Wednesday. | “We approach today’s talks with an intention of probing for opportunities to open a new relationship on the Korean Peninsula,” Kim Kyu-hyun, the South’s chief delegate, told reporters in Seoul before heading to Panmunjom on Wednesday. |
| Mr. Kim, who holds the rank of a vice cabinet minister and is a deputy director at the national security office at the presidential Blue House, is the most senior South Korean to meet North Korean officials since Park Geun-hye was sworn in as South Korean president last February. | Mr. Kim, who holds the rank of a vice cabinet minister and is a deputy director at the national security office at the presidential Blue House, is the most senior South Korean to meet North Korean officials since Park Geun-hye was sworn in as South Korean president last February. |
| Mr. Kim said that although there was no predetermined agenda, he would focus on reaffirming the agreement on family reunions. | Mr. Kim said that although there was no predetermined agenda, he would focus on reaffirming the agreement on family reunions. |
| Talks to hold minister-level dialogue fell through last June when the two Koreas squabbled over protocol. | Talks to hold minister-level dialogue fell through last June when the two Koreas squabbled over protocol. |
| North Korea wanted the South to lift the economic sanctions it had imposed on the North after the sinking of the warship in 2010. It also wanted the South to let humanitarian aid, economic investments and tourists from the South flow once more into North Korea. | North Korea wanted the South to lift the economic sanctions it had imposed on the North after the sinking of the warship in 2010. It also wanted the South to let humanitarian aid, economic investments and tourists from the South flow once more into North Korea. |
| Last month, President Park indicated that she would increase humanitarian aid and provide some development assistance for the North if Pyongyang agreed to ease tensions through the reunions and other good-will gestures. | Last month, President Park indicated that she would increase humanitarian aid and provide some development assistance for the North if Pyongyang agreed to ease tensions through the reunions and other good-will gestures. |
| During her election campaign, Ms. Park also envisioned building a “world peace park” inside the Demilitarized Zone, a heavily armed strip of separating the two Koreas. She also mentioned the long-held South Korean dream of linking its railroads to China and Russia through North Korea. | During her election campaign, Ms. Park also envisioned building a “world peace park” inside the Demilitarized Zone, a heavily armed strip of separating the two Koreas. She also mentioned the long-held South Korean dream of linking its railroads to China and Russia through North Korea. |
| Yet Seoul and Washington insist that any significant aid or investment should be preceded by progress in ending the North’s nuclear weapons program. | Yet Seoul and Washington insist that any significant aid or investment should be preceded by progress in ending the North’s nuclear weapons program. |