Two Koreas hold high

Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, left, shakes hands with his North Korean counterpart Ri Son-gwon before starting a meeting at the truce village of Panmunjom, Monday. / Joint Press Corps

South and North Korea are holding high-level talks Monday to discuss the implementation of the summit agreement their leaders reached last month.

South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon is leading a five-member delegation to the talks that began around 10 a.m. at the truce village of Panmunjom. His North Korean counterpart is Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country.

"The timing (of the meeting) is very important for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the improvement in inter-Korean relations," Cho told reporters in Seoul before departing for the talks.

"As such, we will make efforts to induce good results for the implementation of the Pyongyang Declaration we made in September," he added.

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South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed the declaration after holding their third summit last month, in which they agreed to intensify cross-border cooperation and exchanges on various fronts.

They also agreed to break ground for connecting their rail and road systems along the western and eastern regions within this year and shared a view to make the Korean Peninsula into a safe region without nuclear weapons.

In Monday's high-level talks, the two Koreas are expected to discuss a plan to establish a joint military committee and launch an on-site survey of the North's roads and railways.

They will likely seek to fix a date and venue for Red Cross talks on video meetings and exchanges of messages between families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.

In addition, representatives will review plans for Pyongyang's art troupe to perform in Seoul this month, as well as South Korea's push to field a united team at the 2020 Olympics. Seoul wants to moreover jointly host the 2032 Olympics with Pyongyang.

Other South Korean delegates included Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung, Vice Land and Transport Minister Kim Jeong-ryeol and Vice Sports Minister Roh Tae-gang, the unification ministry said.

The North Korean sides were represented by Vice Railroad Minister Kim Yun-hyok, Vice Minister for Land and Environment Protection Pak Ho-yong and Vice Sports Minister Won Kil-u.

The meeting comes as the United States and North Korea are resuming talks to rid the North of its nuclear and missile programs after a monthslong stalemate. They earlier agreed to hold a second summit between President Donald Trump and Kim "at the earliest possible date." They held their first summit in Singapore in June. (Yonhap)