Koreas to hold high-level talks on Friday

Seoul, Dec 10: South and North Korea will hold high-level talks on Friday expected to cover various issues, including family reunions and the resumption of a suspended joint tour programme, officials said on Thursday.

The vice-ministerial meeting will kick off at a joint industrial park in North Korea’s border city of Kaesong, the Korea Herald reported.

The agenda for the upcoming talks has not been confirmed yet, but South Korea is widely expected to place a priority on the issue of separated families, calling for regular reunions for them.

North Korea is likely to call on Seoul to resume a joint tour programme at Mount Kumgang in the North, which has been suspended since 2008 following the fatal shooting of a South Korean tourist.

The two Koreas held reunions for separated families in October at a facility on Mount Kumgang.

But Seoul said such a one-off event is too insufficient to fulfil the expectations of the surviving 66,000 family members in South Korea.

The will be represented by Vice Unification Minister Hwang Boo-gi from the South and Jon Jong-su, vice director of the secretariat of North Korea’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea.  (IANS)