DPRK to send delegation to PyeongChang Winter Olympics

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The DPRK has confirmed it will send a delegation of athletes to compete in this year's Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.

The announcement comes after representatives from Pyongyang held official talks with officials from Seoul, the first high-level talks between the two Koreas in more than two years.

The DPRK said it would send a senior-level delegation, athletes and a cheering squad to the Olympics next month.

South Korea proposed athletes from the North could participate in the opening and closing ceremonies together with their counterparts from the South.

The rare, high-level dialogue between the two countries took place at the Peace House in the border truce village of Panmunjom and also focused on inter-Korean relations.

CGTN Photo‍

Seoul sent Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon and four other officials to the meeting, while Pyongyang sent four officials to accompany Ri Son Gwon, head of the North's agency handling inter-Korean affairs, as well as officials responsible for sports.

"The people of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea have expressed a strong desire in an open dialogue on the Korean Peninsula and in improving bilateral relations between the two countries. It is the people's strong desire that helps to bring about today's dialogue," Ri said at the meeting.

The ROK also proposed military talks and touched on one of the most emotive legacies of the conflict, holding reunions for families divided by the 1950-53 Korean War at the Lunar New Year, the South's vice unification minister Chun Hae-sung told journalists.

The New Year falls in the middle of the PyeongChang Games.

Head of the North Korean delegation Ri Son Gwon shakes hands with his South Korean counterpart Cho Myoung-gyon before their meeting at the truce village of Panmunjom in the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, January 9, 2018. / Reuters Photo

"North Korea proposed resolving issues regarding inter-Korean ties through dialogue and negotiations for peace and unity on the peninsula," Chun said.

Significance of meeting location

Panmunjom is a key location where the world's most fortified border provides a historical context to the volatility of the Korean Peninsula, where the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement that paused the Korean War took place on July 27th, 1953.

According to the truce agreement, no civilians or military individuals can cross the 248 kilometer long, 4 kilometer wide Demilitarized Zone, known as the DMZ, which serves as a buffer between the two countries.

Responses from the international community

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced Monday that it had extended the deadline to register the DRPK's athletes to participate in the Winter Olympics, pending the final outcome of the official dialogue.

"With regard to the very particular situation on the Korean Peninsula we need the political commitment from all parties concerned to make such participation possible. Once this political commitment is clear, the IOC will take the final decision," the IOC said in a statement.

South Korean soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint on the Grand Unification Bridge that leads to the truce village of Panmunjom, just south of the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreans, in Paju, South Korea, January 9, 2018. / Reuters Photo

Seoul responded on January 2 after DPRK leader Kim Jong Un made a rare friendly gesture in his New Year speech.

"The Winter Games to be held in South Korea will be a good occasion for the country," Kim said. "We sincerely hope that the Winter Olympics will be a success."

ROK President Moon Jae-in stressed that the Games should be a "turning point in improving South-North relations and promoting peace".

The DPRK agreed on the meeting after the United States and the ROK temporarily suspended joint military drills amid the standoff over the DPRK's nuclear and missile programs.

A cross-border communication channel, which had been shut down since 2016, was also reopened last week.

Head of the North Korean delegation Ri Son Gwon and his South Korean counterpart Cho Myoung-gyon arrive for their meeting at the truce village of Panmunjom in the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, January 9, 2018. / Reuters Photo

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe cautiously welcomed the talks, but also suggested that they could a waste of effort.

"The Olympics is a celebration of peace. I want to recognize that change," Abe said in an interview which aired on Sunday on national broadcaster NHK.

But China and the US applauded the news of the bilateral talks.

"China welcomes and supports such a turning point – where both sides improve their relations, promote to ease the Korean Peninsula tensions, and make efforts to realize de-nuclearization on the peninsula," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Geng Shuang said.

US President Donald Trump tweeted, "Talks are a good thing!", but also appeared to take credit for the inter-Korean dialogue taking place at all.

US President Donald Trump tweeted about the talks between the DPRK and the ROK on Jan. 4th, 2017. / Twitter screenshot

US Defense Secretary James Mattis said last Thursday that joint military drills between the US and the ROK will resume after the conclusion of the Paralympics on March 18 and that their postponement was simply due to logistical concerns.