ROK says talks underway with DPRK to open joint liaison office

SEOUL - The Republic of Korea's unification ministry said Wednesday that talks with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) are underway to open a joint liaison office in the DPRK's border town of Kaesong.

Unification Ministry Spokesman Baik Tae-hyun told a press briefing that talks are currently underway between the two Koreas about the opening of the inter-Korean liaison office though no specific progress has been made yet.

The launch of the joint liaison office was agreed upon by ROK President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong-un during their first summit on April 27 in the border village of Panmunjom.

The ROK aims to open the liaison office by the end of August to increase communication with the DPRK, but it became difficult to open it as planned given the remaining date of this month.

Asked about whether the cancelled visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to the DPRK influenced the opening date of the liaison office, the spokesman said there was a virtuous cycle between the inter-Korean relations and the DPRK-US relations.

US President Donald Trump recently asked Pompeo to cancel his scheduled visit to Pyongyang.

The spokesman said inter-Korean talks are underway through various channels to determine the date of the third summit between the current leaders of the two Koreas.

The ROK and the DPRK agreed to hold the third Moon-Kim summit in Pyongyang before the end of September.