Travel, tourism and now a North and South Korea liaison office

LisionNSK
LisionNSK
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Travel and tourism, along with sports seem to be a current attempt to bring South and North Korea on common grounds.

Now the North and South Korean heads of an about to be opened liaison office will have a meeting once a week, while working-level talks will be held on a frequent basis.

Seoul and Pyongyang will open this joint inter-Korean liaison office with “round-the-clock” communication channels on Friday, the South Korean Ministry of Unification (MOU) announced on Wednesday.

The two Koreas are set to operate the liaison office with resident representatives at the now-shuttered Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC), ahead of the third meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next week in Pyongyang.

Seoul will utilize the liaison office’s “round-the-clock communication channels” with Pyongyang for contacts and negotiations to discuss a variety of issues concerning inter-Korean relations, the unification ministry said in a written statement.

The head of  the liaison office simultaneously serves as the representative for talks and negotiations with North Korea, the MOU said, adding such inter-Korean meeting could take place at any time with the aim to “resolve major issues.”

The inaugural director also will be in charge of conveying messages from both leaders “if necessary,” even though the two Koreas installed a hotline between Moon and Kim in April before the third inter-Korean summit took place.

South Korean Vice-Minister of Unification Chun Hae-sung has been tapped to lead the office, while Pyongyang notified that a vice-chairman of the DPRK’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country (CPRC) will serve as chief, without sharing further details.

Baik Tae-hyun, the unification ministry spokesperson, said both sides agreed to appoint a vice-ministerial-level official as their director, considering that the role will entail delivery of messages from Moon and Kim, who first announced the establishment of the liaison office in the Panmunjom Declaration.

The issues related to the inter-Korean talks and events, joint research, and exchanges – as well as “tasks necessary for the development of inter-Korean relations” – will be discussed at the liaison office.

About the author

Avatar of Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen Thomas Steinmetz has continuously worked in the travel and tourism industry since he was a teenager in Germany (1977).
He founded eTurboNews in 1999 as the first online newsletter for the global travel tourism industry.

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