S. Korea offers to talk with North on Olympics cooperation
SEOUL: South Korea has offered high-level talks with rival North Korea meant to find ways to cooperate on the Winter Olympics set to begin in the South next month.
Tuesday's offer came a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in his New Year's address that he's willing to send a delegation to the Olympics, though he also repeated nuclear threats against the United States.
Analysts say Kim may be trying to drive a wedge between Seoul and its ally Washington as a way to ease international isolation and sanctions against North Korea.
South Korean Unification Minster Cho Myoung-gyon says the South proposes the two Koreas meet Jan 9 at the border village of Panmunjom to discuss Olympic cooperation and how to improve overall ties.
- Analysis: North Korea 2017: Hope to hostility
- Video: North Korea's Kim Jong-Un extends olive branch to South Korea raising hopes that Olympics will help bring peace between the two countries
North Korea's Kim Jong-Un extends olive branch to South Korea raising hopes that Olympics will help bring peace between the two countries https://t.co/IySL2guhxs pic.twitter.com/IyPzuVJrYS
— TRT World (@trtworld) January 1, 2018
(Video Twitter/TRT World)