What will North and South Korea discuss?

US Vice President Mike Pence (left) and President Donald Trump. Photo: Getty

According toYonhap, in an interview with “The Dana Show”Radio AmericaOn January 8, Vice President Mike Pence was asked to assess the US role in bringing North Korea and South Korea to the negotiating table to discuss sending a North Korean delegation to South Korea to participate in the Winter Olympics.

“President Trump has put unprecedented diplomatic and economic pressure on North Korea. And for North Korea to actually be willing to sit down with South Korea today, even just to talk about the Olympics, I think that is a direct result of the pressure that President Trump has put on North Korea,” Vice President Mike Pence said.

President Trump's "vice-general" said the US would not "relent" on North Korea until it completely abandoned its missile and nuclear programs. Mr. Pence also recalled his trip to South Korea early last year and affirmed that he wanted to send that strong message to North Korea.

“When I got to the DMZ, security told us we could stay inside and look out the window. But I said, ‘That’s not what I want to do here.’ I went outside. I wanted to see the soldiers of North Korea with my own eyes, and I wanted to convey the resolve of President Trump and the United States to keep our allies in South Korea strong and to continue to support a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula,” Pence added.

Mr. Pence also expressed pride in his father's participation in the 1950-1953 Korean War.

“The progress we are making is a direct result of President Trump’s strong, clear leadership, and we will continue that process until North Korea accepts the common position of the civilized world: abandoning its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and stopping threatening the world,” the US Vice President emphasized.

What will North and South Korea discuss?

South Korea and North Korea have begun to reconnect their hotline after more than two years of being frozen. Photo: NHK

After resuming a communication hotline frozen for more than two years last week, South Korea and North Korea agreed to hold high-level talks today, January 9, at the Panmunjom truce village in the DMZ on the South Korean side of the border.

South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, who is leading a five-member delegation of South Korean negotiators to the talks with North Korea, said the main topic of discussion between the two sides will be related to the Olympics next month.

“We will listen to what North Korea says and try to allow them to participate in the Olympics,” Mr. Cho said.

In addition, according to Minister Cho, the South Korean government also wants to mention a number of other issues such as family reunions between people of the two countries, the tense situation on the Korean peninsula and inter-Korean relations in the meeting with Pyongyang.

“Basically, the two sides will focus on the Olympics. When discussing inter-Korean relations, the government will seek to address the issue of families separated by war as well as ways to reduce military tensions,” Cho told reporters.

According to the South Korean Unification Ministry, the talks are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. local time today. The North Korean delegation will move across the shared border area at around 9:30 a.m. and walk to the meeting site south of Panmunjom. This is the first high-level talks between North and South Korea in more than two years.