A file picture shows South Korea's Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon.[Aju News DB]
SEOUL, Jan. 02 (Aju News) -- South Korea proposed high-level inter-Korean talks next week on North Korea's participation in the Winter Olympics and other issues aimed at seeking a breakthrough in frozen cross-border relations.
The South's proposal was made Tuesday by Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon who called for "frank" dialogue on January 9 in the truce village of Panmunjom in the middle of the demilitarized zone (DMZ), which separates the Korean peninsula.
"I hope that the two Koreas will be able to sit down for frank discussions on North Korea's participation in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics as well as issues of mutual concern to improve inter-Korean relations," Cho said in a televised news conference.
South Korea is ready to hold talks with North Korea "without being bound by time, place or format", he said, suggesting the two Koreas should restore a channel of cross-border communication in Panmunjom, which was cut off at the height of military tensions across the border.
The minister described the South's proposal as unilateral, saying there has been no prior contact with Pyongyang following North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's peace overture Monday. He urged North Korea to make a quick reply to discuss technical and other details on the proposed meeting, saying time is running short.
The meeting would focus on the North's participation in the Pyeongchang event but other pending issues including North Korea's nuclear program could be discussed, Cho said.
Kim said in his New Year's message that he is willing to send a delegation to the Winter Olympics to be held in South Korea's eastern ski resort of Pyeongchang on February 9-25. He also called for urgent inter-Korean talks and suggested the two Koreas should seek an "epochal" change in 2018 by easing tensions.
Relations were strained in 2010 when Seoul blamed a North Korean submarine for torpedoing the warship Cheonan. The incident froze cross-border exchanges and trade. In November the same year, the North shelled a front-line island, killing four South Koreans and briefly triggering concerns of a full-scale conflict.
North Korea's unyielding push for the development of missiles and nuclear weapons has aggravated relations.
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