Seoul (AsiaNews) - After seven years of silence, the two Koreas this morning resumed bilateral military talks. A group of high ranking officers from both armies met in the village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone, the historical headquarters of all talks between Seoul and Pyongyang. The dialogue agenda is not clear, but in recent weeks the soldiers of both sides have engaged in the exchange of fire - without causing casualties - both on land and on the maritime border.
South Korean government officials have not confirmed an official meeting, according to some sources quoted by Yonhap, the reserve is due to explicit requests from the Kim regime who do not want to make the decision "public". The last time Seoul and Pyongyang met for military talks was December 2007: the North's continuous provocations and its unauthorized nuclear program imposed the end of any direct relations.
The situation of the two nations is unclear
at the moment, given that technically they are still at
war. The civil war erupted in 1950
and ended three years
later with the signing of an armistice,
but not a real peace deal.
On 5 October, a delegation composed of three high level North Korean
officials made a
surprise visit to Incheon, in the South, ostensibly to witness the conclusion of
the Asian Games. This trip sparked
widespread speculation, also because of the
absence of dictator Kim Jong-un. However, despite the hopes for a reconciliation, or at least a truce, two days later a Navy vessel of the South
engaged in a shootout with the North on the sea border.