A long-closed border hotline with Seoul is set to be opened at 6.30am for talks after South Korea proposed on New Year’s Day that discussions should take place.
Talks will officially aim to open formal discussions about the North sending a delegation to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in February but other issues are likely to also be discussed.
A South Korean Presidential spokesman has said the opening of the border hotline is a “significant development”.
There had been fears that Kim Jong-un would target the international games with a nuclear strike in retaliation to joint military drills between the South and US.
The South Korean and US military usually hold a military exercise in March and April which involves more than 300,000 troops as preparation work for any potential invasion from the corrupt regime.
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US Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, had previously said that it remained an “open question” whether to send athletes to the winter games due to fears of a nuclear strike.
It is expected that a potential deal between the two Korean countries would see Pyongyang allowed to attend the Olympics if they froze their nuclear programme in return for the US and Seoul cancelling their joint military training plans.
The Winter Olympics will be held between February 9 and 25, and the Paralympics will take place between March 8 and 18.
More to follow…