Koreas extend high-level talks to ease animosity

Showing promising signs of reconciliation after stepping away from a military standoff in August, North Korea and South Korea have decided to extend the high-level talks to ease animosity.

While no major developments were expected from the last day of the meetings between vice-ministerial officials in Kaesong, where the discussions stretched late into the night on December 11, the two sides decided to extend the talks. People on both sides find the talks meaningful because they keep alive an atmosphere of dialogue something the rivals have often failed to do in the wake of conflict.

“The South and North had comprehensive discussions on pending issues and thoughtfully exchanged their views,” Seoul’s Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-Hee said, after the talks. However, the issues that were discussed were not revealed by the spokesman.

“Improving relations with Seoul is a priority for young North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who likely wants tangible diplomatic and economic achievements before a convention of the ruling Workers’ Party in May, said Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea expert at Seoul’s Dongguk University.”

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