This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/05/world/asia/south-and-north-korea-agree-to-resume-high-level-talks.html

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
South and North Korea Agree to Resume High-Level Talks South and North Korea Agree to Resume High-Level Talks
(about 5 hours later)
SEOUL, South Korea — South and North Korea agreed on Saturday to resume high-level talks this year, raising hopes for a thaw in the long-tense relations on the divided peninsula. SEOUL, South Korea — South and North Korea agreed on Saturday to resume high-level talks this year, raising hopes for a thaw in the long-tense relations on the divided Korean Peninsula.
A statement from South Korea announcing the agreement did not specify what would be discussed. But South Korea had proposed in August that officials on the vice ministerial level meet to discuss a new round of reunions of family members separated by the Korean War six decades ago, a program that has proceeded in fits and starts for years as inter-Korean relations have fluctuated. A statement from South Korea did not specify what would be discussed. But South Korea had proposed in August that senior officials meet to discuss a new round of reunions of family members separated by the Korean War six decades ago, a program that has proceeded in fits and starts for years as inter-Korean relations have fluctuated.
The North had rejected the August overture, insisting that Seoul first stop activists in the South from sending balloons into North Korea bearing antigovernment propaganda.The North had rejected the August overture, insisting that Seoul first stop activists in the South from sending balloons into North Korea bearing antigovernment propaganda.
But a breakthrough appeared to come Saturday, when top South Korean policy makers met with a North Korean delegation visiting the city of Incheon to attend the closing ceremony of the Asian Games, a surprise visit that South Korea announced just an hour before the officials’ arrival. The delegation included three of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s most trusted aides. But a breakthrough appeared to come on Saturday, when top South Korean policy makers met with a North Korean delegation visiting Incheon for the closing ceremony of the Asian Games, a surprise visit that South Korea announced just an hour before the officials’ arrival. The delegation included three of the most trusted aides of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.
During the meeting Saturday, the two sides agreed to resume formal dialogue between late October and early November, the South’s Ministry of National Unification said in a statement. “While calling the upcoming talks a second round of dialogue, the North explained that it intended to hold more rounds of South-North talks in the future,” the statement said. During the meeting on Saturday, the two sides agreed to resume a formal dialogue later this month or in early November, the South’s Ministry of Unification said in a statement. “While calling the upcoming talks a second round of dialogue, the North explained that it intended to hold more rounds of South-North talks in the future,” the statement said.
The mention of a “second round” appeared to refer to the last time officials met to discuss the family reunions, in February. Soon after that meeting, hundreds of aging Koreans from both sides of the border were allowed to hold emotional family reunions at a North Korean resort. No further reunions have been held since then. The mention of a “second round” appeared to refer to the last time officials met to discuss the family reunions, in February. Soon after that meeting, hundreds of aging Koreans from both sides were allowed to hold emotional family reunions at a North Korean resort. No further reunions have been held since then.
The Koreas have technically been at war since the Korean War, which ended in 1953 with a truce rather than a peace treaty, and their relationship has been particularly sour during the last few years. But signs of a possible thaw have emerged in recent months. The North Korean delegation’s visit and the agreement to resume talks were all the more unexpected, given the North’s recent vitriol toward the South Korean president, Park Geun-hye. On Thursday, the North called Ms. Park “a rabid dog” after she vowed that pressing the North to end human rights abuses would be a key goal of her government.
The two Koreas have technically been at war since the Korean War ended in 1953 with a truce rather than a peace treaty, and their relationship has been particularly sour during the past few years. But signs of a possible thaw have emerged in recent months.
Ms. Park has allowed private relief groups to send humanitarian aid for malnourished children to the North and has promised more aid if the North agrees to ease tensions.
North Korea has made its own conciliatory overtures, including sending its athletes to the Asian Games in the South. On Saturday, its delegation included Vice Marshal Hwang Pyong-so, who is also vice chairman of the National Defense Commission, the North’s top governing agency.