|
SEOUL, Jan. 2-- South Korea offered Tuesday to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) holding a high-level dialogue on Jan. 9 in the truce village of Panmunjom after top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un delivered his New Year speech making a peace overture. "The government proposes (to the DPRK) holding a senior-level inter-governmental dialogue of the South and the North (Koreas) on Jan. 9 at Peace House in Panmunjom," South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon told a televised press conference. The Peace House is a building in Panmunjom controlled by South Korea. The dialogue overture came a day after top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un said in his New Year speech that Pyongyang was willing to take necessary measures, including the dispatch of the DPRK delegation to the South Korea-hosted winter sports event, and to hold an immediate discussion over it. Cho anticipated that the two Koreas would frankly discuss issues of mutual concern to improve inter-Korean relations as well as the issue on the DPRK's participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games slated to start in February in South Korea's eastern county of PyeongChang. If realized, the reinitiated talks would mark the first inter-Korean dialogue since the Moon Jae-in cabinet was sworn in last May. The last inter-Korean dialogue was held in December 2017 for the meeting of vice ministerial-level officials. President Moon said at this year's first cabinet meeting earlier in the day that he welcomed Kim's New Year speech, ordering government officials to rapidly restore inter-Korean dialogue and draw up follow-up measures to make it possible for the DPRK to join the upcoming winter Olympics. | 
