SEOUL (Reuters) – Aides to the leaders of North and South Korea held talks at the Panmunjom truce village straddling their border yesterday and into the early hours of today, raising hopes for an end to a standoff that put the rivals on the brink of armed conflict.
The meeting at the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) village, known for its sky-blue huts and grim-faced soldiers, began soon after the deadline for North Korea’s previously set ultimatum demanding that the South halt its loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts along the border or face military action.
That deadline passed without any reported incidents.
The envoys held discussions on how to resolve recent tensions and improve ties, the South Korean presidential office said in a brief statement. The talks which began late yesterday broke before dawn today and the envoys will resume discussions later in the day, it said.
An exchange of artillery fire on Thursday prompted calls for calm from the United Nations, the United States and the North’s lone major ally, China. South Korea’s military remained on high alert despite the announced talks, a defence official said.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s national security adviser and her unification minister met with Hwang Pyong So, the top military aide to the North’s leader Kim Jong Un, and Kim Yang Gon, a veteran official in inter-Korean affairs.
