Two days of high-level talks between North & South Korea stopped Saturday with no breakthroughs, South Korean officers stated, leaving mixed signals about reconciliation efforts the rivals have made since stepping away from a military standoff in Aug.The meeting of vice-ministerial officers within the town of Kaesong wasn’t expected to produce any substantial outcomes, still analysts had thought-about the talks an indication in that the rivals have been working to maintain alive an environment of conversation – one thing they’ve typically did not do within the wake of conflict.
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Holding the high-level talks is a key element of the inter-Korean agreement on Aug. 25 to ease tension and promote more civilian exchanges following a border land-mine explosion blamed on the North in early August.
The two sides failed to reach an agreement on a schedule for the next round of the vice ministerial-level talks, indicating a de-facto failure of the talks.
South Korea, meanwhile, wants the North to agree to regular reunions for families separated by the Korean War.
The tour, launched in 1998, was suspended in July 2008 when a South Korean female tourist was shot dead by a North Korean soldier after venturing into an off-limit area.
The talks were the first of their kind in two years.
Shaking hands at their first session on Friday morning, Hwang had declared it was time to “take a crucial step”, while his North Korean counterpart Jon Jong-Su underlined the opportunity to move towards a less confrontational relationship.
While the latest talks were an achievement in the context of sporadic post-Korean War communications, a number of significant hurdles continue to pose a challenge going forward – not least the North’s nuclear ambitions, which are consistently condemned by the South and its ally the United States. Those included a resumption of talks between senior officials and the round of reunions for war-separated families that were held in October.
Analysts said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may be keen on improving inter-Korean affairs as he would want to achieve some feats in the economic and diplomatic fronts ahead of the ruling party’s congress slated for May.
Millions of family members were separated by the war that sealed the division of the Korean peninsula.
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But after the latest negotiations fell apart, Pyongyang would likely focus on preparations for the conference rather than dialogue, Yang said, adding an upcoming South Korean-US joint army exercise would also mar the prospects for fresh talks.
