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North Korea
AsiaEast Asia

North Korea, South Korea discuss summit, rebuilding blown-up liaison office: sources

  • South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have been writing to each other to improve ties
  • Government sources in South Korea said they are looking at rebuilding their joint liaison office in Kaesong which Pyongyang destroyed last year

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, pictured here in 2018, have exchanged ‘candid’ letters with each other, sources say. Photo: AP
Reuters
North and South Korea are in talks to reopen a joint liaison office that Pyongyang demolished last year and hold a summit as part of efforts to restore relations, three South Korean government sources with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.
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South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have been exploring ways to improve strained ties by exchanging multiple letters since April, the sources said on condition of anonymity due to diplomatic sensitivity.

The discussions signal an improvement in ties that have deteriorated in the past year after three leaders’ summits in 2018 promised peace and reconciliation.

Inter-Korean talks could also help restart stalled negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington aimed at dismantling North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes in return for sanctions relief.

The issue is key for Moon, who is facing declining support in his final year in office. Moon staked his legacy on improving relations with North Korea and helped set up historic meetings between Kim and then US president Donald Trump in 2018 and 2019.

The two Koreas, still technically at war after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a ceasefire, on Tuesday reconnected hotlines the North severed in June last year.

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