Two Koreas discuss jointly marking March 1 Independence Movement

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The Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) held talks Friday at the inter-Korean liaison office in the DPRK's border town of Kaesong, according to local media reports citing Seoul's Unification Ministry.

ROK Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung met with Hwang Chung Song, deputy chief of the liaison office on the DPRK side.

The liaison office opened in September last year for round-the-clock inter-Korean communications.

ROK President Moon Jae-in (L, front) attends an official welcome ceremony hosted by DPRK leader Kim Jong Un (R, front) at Pyongyang Sunan International Airport, in Pyongyang, DPRK, September 18, 2018. /VCG Photo

During the meeting, Chun and Hwang discussed a range of inter-Korean issues, including a joint celebration of the 100th anniversary of the March 1 independence movement against Japan's colonial rule.

The Korean Peninsula was colonized by Imperial Japan from 1910 to 1945. During the nationwide independence movement on March 1, 1919, about 7,500 Koreans were killed and some 50,000 arrested under the brutal Japanese crackdown, local historians said.

ROK President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un agreed in their third summit in Pyongyang in September last year to jointly commemorate the 100th anniversary of the independence movement.

ROK President Moon Jae-in walks during a parade after a ceremony of the 99th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement at Seodaemun Prison History Hall in Seoul, ROK, March 1, 2018. /VCG Photo

The ROK proposed to the DPRK holding the joint celebratory event, but Pyongyang had yet to make a detailed response to the proposal.

Lee Eugene, deputy spokesperson of the Seoul ministry, told a press briefing early Friday that the ROK was still waiting for the DPRK's response to the overtures.

(Cover: People hold banners during a ceremony of the 99th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement at Seodaemun Prison History Hall in Seoul, ROK, March 1, 2018. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency