President Moon Jae-in may suggest establishing a joint inter-Korean communications office during Friday’s meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, local media reported Wednesday.
According to reports citing unnamed Cheong Wa Dae officials, Moon could make the suggestion, and if accepted, the office is likely to be set up at Panmunjeom, where Friday’s summit will take place.
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| The Peace House on the South Korean side of Panmunjeom, a possible site of an inter-Korean communications office. Yonhap |
The communications office Moon envisions will be staffed by officials from the two Koreas, reports said. The two Koreas had operated a similar office for economic issues at the Kaesong Industrial Complex until 2010.
According to reports, a jointly operated communications office is part of Moon’s plans for improving inter-Korean exchanges, leading to arranging regular summit meetings.
Moon has expressed hopes for the leaders of the two Koreas to meet on a regular basis on a number of occasions. According to Cheong Wa Dae, its decision to name Friday’s summit the “2018 inter-Korean summit” instead of referring to it as the third inter-Korean summit reflects such plans.
Moon’s Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok, who heads the inter-Korean summit preparation committee, has also hinted at the administration’s hopes for more frequent cross-border summit talks.
Speaking at the first press briefing on the committee’s operations on April 17, Im said that “frequent, regular (summit meetings)” could allow the two sides’ leaders to discuss issues unresolved at working- and high-level talks.
By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)
