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SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea and South Korea on Monday continued their peace efforts with high-level talks that resulted in numerous agreements, including a plan for rivals for the organization. of a revolutionary ceremony this year on an ambitious project to connect their railways and their roads.
The agreements stem from the malaise raised in Washington by the speed of inter-Korean engagement. Many outsiders believe that US efforts to rid North Korea of its nuclear-powered missiles lag significantly behind Korea's efforts to overcome decades of fierce rivalry.
The decision of the Ministry of Unification of South Korea to prevent a North Korean defector turned journalist to cover the talks taking place in the border village of Panmunjom is also provoking controversy over fears over the anger of North Korea. This provoked a fierce reaction from other journalists, who accused the ministry of violating media freedom and discriminating against citizens born in North Korea.
A series of weapons tests by North Korea last year, as well as an exchange of insults and threats between US President Donald Trump and the North American leader. Korean Kim Jong Un, have caused many people to go to war on the Korean peninsula. But since then, a surprising peace initiative has been organized, with three interlocking summits and a June meeting in Singapore between Trump and Kim. The United States and North Korea are currently preparing a second such summit.
Nevertheless, there is widespread skepticism about the disarmament of North Korea. And, despite the craze for proposed railways and road projects, the Koreas can not move much further without the lifting of international sanctions against North Korea, which probably should not happen before taking more action. to give up its nuclear weapons and missiles.
The Ministry of South Korean Unification, which handles business with the North, said in a statement that the government would share details of Monday's meeting with the United States and other countries and said coordinate with them to avoid any friction with the sanctions.
According to the ministry, the rivals agreed on Monday to hold military talks at the general level to discuss reducing border tensions and setting up a joint military committee to maintain communication and avoid abuses. crises and accidental clashes.
The Koreas have also agreed to use their newly opened Liaison Office in Kaesong, a border town of North Korea, to hold discussions between sports officials at the end of October, to discuss the possibility of sending combined teams to the summer Olympics of 2020 and to make sure that the Summer Games of 2032.
In addition, the two countries will hold discussions on the Red Cross in Diamond Mountain, North Korea, in November, with a view to organizing videoconferences between elderly parents separated by the 1950-53 Korean War. which will eventually allow them to expand their meetings face to face.
Monday's talks aimed to find ways to implement the peace agreements announced after last month's summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Kim in Pyongyang, capital of China. from North Korea.
South Korea's Minister of Unification, Cho Myoung-Gyon, said it was significant that Korea is speeding up agreements as its diplomacy is gaining ground. His North Korean counterpart, Ri Son Gwon, who heads an agency with inter-Korean affairs, said: "No group or force will stand in the way of peace, prosperity and prosperity. unification of our nation ".
At the last summit between Moon and Kim, the two leaders pledged to revive economic cooperation where possible, expressing optimism about the possibility of ending international sanctions and allowing such activity.
They also announced measures to reduce conventional military threats, such as the creation of buffer zones along their land and sea borders and a no-fly zone over the border. removal of 11 guard posts by December and demining of sections of the demilitarized zone.
Moon has described the inter-Korean commitment as crucial to solving the nuclear stalemate and is keen to revive joint economic projects curbed by sanctions if broader nuclear talks between the US and North Korea begin. to bear fruit.
However, South Korea's enthusiasm for its relations with its rival seems to have created a malaise with the United States, a key ally.
The Moon government last week rejected a proposal to lift some of its unilateral sanctions against North Korea following Trump's brutal retort that Seoul could "do nothing" without Washington's approval. .
South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha also said that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed dissatisfaction with Korea's military agreements. Kang was not specific, but his comments fueled speculation that Washington was not totally on board before the signing of the accords by Seoul.
Trump urged US allies to maintain the sanctions imposed on North Korea until denuclearization continues in order to maintain a campaign of pressure against Kim's government.
South Korea also Monday criticized Moon's efforts to keep North Korea happy.
Unification Minister, Mr. Cho, said his call to exclude Kim Myeong-sung, born in North Korea, from a group of journalists covering the meeting was an "inevitable political decision" aimed at to improve the chances of success of the discussions.
He added that the ministry would work harder to ensure that defectors born in North Korea can report North Korea's problems without restrictions. But he did not respond directly to the question of whether he would make the same decision in the future.
The Ministry of Unification spokesman, Baik Tae-hyun, said earlier that North Korea had not demanded that Kim be excluded from the coverage of the meeting. Kim is a journalist for conservative Chosun Ilbo, the largest newspaper in South Korea, who has widely criticized Moon's policy. The South Korean press covering the ministry issued a statement in which it denounced him for "serious infringement of the freedom of the media".
