Seoul, Pyongyang finalise delegations for bilateral meet

Seoul Jan 7 (IANS) North and South Korea have agreed on the composition of the delegations which will participate in the first high-level meeting on Tuesday between the two countries after over two years the Unification Ministry said here on Sunday.

Pyongyang informed Seoul of its five-member delegation earlier in the day which will be led by Ri Son-gwon head of his country s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK) reports Efe news.

On Saturday Seoul had proposed a delegation led by Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon and four other members.

On January 5 Pyongyang accepted Seoul s proposal of holding the meeting in Panmunjom on to discuss sending North Korean athletes to the Winter Olympics to be held in the South Korea s Pyeongchang county in February as well as discussing a general improvement in relations.

The decision came after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un expressed a desire for rapprochement with the South and to send a delegation to participate in the Pyeongchang games making Seoul and Washington postpone their annual joint military drill.

North Korea s participation in Pyeongchang and a rapprochement between the two Koreas could contribute to easing regional tensions caused by Pyongyang s consistent ballistic weapons tests and US President Donald Trump s belligerent rhetoric throughout 2017.

--IANS
ksk/mr