Summary:
South Korea on Tuesday responded to an overture from the North and proposed holding high-level talks between the countries on their border next week.
North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, had suggested on Monday that the countries open dialogue on easing military tensions and on the possibility of the North’s participating in the Winter Olympics in the South, even as he noted that he now had a “nuclear button” on his desk.
Mr. Moon has been promoting dialogue and exchanges with the North and seeking a thaw after years of tensions.
Cho Myoung-gyon, the South’s point man on the North, proposed that the Korean governments hold their meeting next Tuesday in Panmunjom, a village straddling the border north of Seoul, the South Korean capital.
“We hope the two sides sit down for frank talks,” Mr. Cho, the unification minister, said at a news conference.
Mr. Cho said the South was closely consulting with Washington on its dealings with the North.
On Tuesday, Mr. Cho urged the North to restore the hotline so that both
sides could discuss the agenda for the high-level talks.
Mr. Moon has repeatedly urged North Korea to join the Pyeongchang
Olympics, hoping it would ease the military tensions over the North’s
nuclear and missile programs.
