SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – The Latest on the border talks between North and South Korea (all times local):
1:20 p.m.
North Korea has slammed President Donald Trump’s claim that it was his strong position toward Pyongyang that set the stage for the first high-level North-South talks in more than two years.
South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, left, shakes hands with the head of North Korean delegation Ri Son Gwon before their meeting at the Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone in Paju, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. South Korean media said North and South Korea have begun talks at their border about how to cooperate in next month’s Winter Olympics and how to improve their long-strained ties. (Korea Pool/Yonhap via AP)
The North’s ruling party newspaper criticized Trump’s claims that enforcement of sanctions and increased pressure on the North were a “diplomatic success” of his first year in office, calling that a “ridiculous sophism” in a commentary published as the two sides started their talks on Tuesday.
“It is very deplorable to see the U.S. politicians boasting of their diplomatic failure as ‘diplomatic success,'” it said.
Senior officials from the North and South are meeting in the border village of Panmunjom to discuss a proposal by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to send a delegation to next month’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and other bilateral issues.
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11:15 a.m.
A State Department adviser says the U.S. views Tuesday’s talks between North and South Korea as a good start but it’s too early to know if they’ll be meaningful beyond the Olympics preparations.
Brian Hook, a chief adviser to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, told reporters in a conference call that sanctions on Pyongyang would continue until the U.S. reached its goal of “the complete verifiable, irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”
Hook said President Donald Trump credits the pressure campaign with convincing the North to agree to renewed dialogue with the South.
Senior officials from the two Koreas held the rivals’ first formal talks in about two years in the border village of Panmunjom. The talks were arranged after North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un recently made an abrupt push for improved ties with South Korea.
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10:15 a.m.
South Korean media say North and South Korea have begun talks at their border about how to cooperate in next month’s Winter Olympics and how to improve their long-strained ties.
Yonhap news agency reported that the first talks between the rivals in about two years began as scheduled Tuesday morning at the border village of Panmunjom. YTN television network carried a similar report.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been making an apparent push for improved ties with the South after a year of elevated tension over his country’s nuclear and missile tests. Critics, though, say Kim may be trying to divide Seoul and Washington to weaken international pressure and sanctions over the tests.
Kim Jong Un had said in his New Year’s Day address that he was willing to send a delegation to the Olympics being held next month in Pyeongyang, South Korea. South Korean President Moon Jae-in welcomed Kim’s overture and proposed the talks.
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7:50 a.m.
Senior South Korean officials are heading to the Demilitarized Zone for rare talks with their North Korean counterparts.
The officials departed Seoul early Tuesday morning for the border.
The agenda includes cooperation at next month’s Winter Olympics in South Korea and improving long-strained ties.
The rival Koreas’ first formal meeting in about two years comes after months of tension over North Korea’s expanding nuclear and missile programs.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in his New Year’s Day address that he was willing to send a delegation to the Olympics. South Korean President Moon Jae-in welcomed Kim’s overture and proposed holding talks.
Critics say Kim may be trying to divide Seoul and Washington in a bid to weaken international pressure and sanctions over North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests.
South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, third from right, and the head of North Korean delegation Ri Son Gwon, third from left, with their delegation meet at the Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone in Paju, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. South Korean media said North and South Korea have begun talks at their border about how to cooperate in next month’s Winter Olympics and how to improve their long-strained ties. (Korea Pool/Yonhap via AP)
The head of North Korean delegation Ri Son Gwon, center, arrives at the South side for the meeting with South Korea at the Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone in Paju, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. South Korean media said North and South Korea have begun talks at their border about how to cooperate in next month’s Winter Olympics and how to improve their long-strained ties. (Korea Pool/Yonhap via AP)
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