ROK, DPRK to hold talks over Paralympic Winter Games

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The Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will hold a working-level dialogue next week to discuss the DPRK's participation in the Winter Paralympics, Seoul's unification ministry said Friday.

The ROK offered Tuesday to hold the working-level talks, and the DPRK accepted the proposal earlier on Friday, according to the unification ministry.

The dialogue will be held from 10 a.m. local time on February 27 at Tongilgak, a DPRK building in the truce village of Panmunjom, which straddles the DPRK and the ROK.

Seoul will send a three-member delegation to the talks, which is led by Lee Joo-tae, Director General of the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Bureau at the Ministry of Unification.

The Winter Paralympics is scheduled for March 9 to 18 in the ROK's eastern county of Pyeongchang, where the 23rd Winter Olympics is underway.

The DPRK and ROK Olympic teams enter together under the Korean Unification Flag during the Parade of Athletes during the Opening Ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at PyeongChang Olympic Stadium, ROK, Feb. 9, 2018. /VCG Photo

The DPRK already sent its athletes and cheerleaders to the ROK-hosted winter Olympics. It has notified the ROK of its plan to dispatch a high-ranking delegation to the Winter Olympics' closing ceremony scheduled for Sunday.

The DPRK delegation will be led by Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, who doubles as the director of the United Front Department in charge of inter-Korean relations.

File photo: Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the DPRK's ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), speaks during a briefing for diplomats based in Pyongyang, the DPRK, August 21, 2015. /VCG Photo

During the senior-level inter-Korean talks in January, the DPRK agreed to send athletes, cheerleaders and artists to the Winter Paralympics.

The DPRK's participation in the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games helped ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Kim Yo Jong, the younger sister of top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un, attended the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics and met with ROK President Moon Jae-in.

The DPRK leader's sister and special envoy, Kim Yo Jong, and the DPRK's ceremonial head of state, Kim Yong Nam, sat with ROK President Moon Jae-in at a concert in Seoul performed by DPRK's Samjiyon Orchestra, Feb.11, 2018. /VCG Photo‍

The younger Kim delivered the DPRK leader's invitation to Moon to visit Pyongyang at a convenient time.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency