Two Koreas restart high-level talks

• October 5, 2014 09:26

(Baonghean.vn) - According to the announcement of the South Korean Ministry on North Korea issues, on October 5, the two Koreas began to resume their high-level talks. These talks have been suspended since February.

Phó Chủ tịch Ủy ban Quốc phòng Bắc Triều Tiên Hwang Pyong So và Bộ trưởng Bộ thống nhất Hàn Quốc Ryoo Kihl Jae / Ảnh: Shin Jun Hee
North Korean National Defense Commission Vice Chairman Hwang Pyong So and South Korean Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl Jae / Photo: Shin Jun Hee

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The agreement was announced after a surprise visit by three senior officials from the Pyongyang regime to South Korea. According to information received, the man considered the number two figure in the Pyongyang regime, Mr. Hwang Pyong So, met with Seoul's Unification Minister and National Security Adviser, Mr. Ryoo Kihl Jae.

Lim Byung-cheol, spokesman for the South Korean Unification Ministry, said Hwang Pyong So, who is currently the head of the military and a newly elected member of the National Defense Commission, is considered the second most powerful figure in Pyongyang after President Kim Jong Un.

Around 10am local time, Pyongyang arrived at Incheon Airport near Seoul for the first high-level meeting between the two Koreas in a long time. However, the three leaders of Pyongyang returned to North Korea that evening.

Since the signing of the Armistice Agreement in 1953, the two Koreas have been in a state of near-confrontation and have not reached any further peace treaties.

The visit by senior Pyongyang officials, including Hwang Pyong So, comes amid speculation about the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. In July, during a ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the death of Kim Il Sung, the grandson of the founder of the communist regime in North Korea appeared limping. A month later, President Kim Jong Un has not been seen in public.

Chu Thanh

According to LeMonde 4/10