South Korea Says Some North Koreans Have Returned to Liaison Office
South Korea Says Some North Koreans Have Returned to Liaison Office
(Bloomberg) -- Some North Korean officials returned to a liaison office with South Korea just days after Pyongyang withdrew from the facility that allowed the rivals to communicate around the clock.
North Korea informed South Korea on Friday that it would stop participating in the liaison office, dealing a blow to President Moon Jae-in’s rapprochement efforts.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry said four or five officials came to the office Monday in the North Korean border city of Gaeseong and quoted the North Koreans as telling their South Korean counterparts they “came down to do our shift as usual.”
The North Korean move on Monday followed a signal from President Donald Trump last week that he may be willing to ease sanctions choking North’s Korea’s anemic economy.
The two Koreas agreed to open the office during a historic April summit between Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a signature achievement in the South Korean leader’s efforts to secure peace with Pyongyang.
“The liaison office representatives held a meeting this morning, and agreed to operate as usual," according to a Unification Ministry statement, which added that the office will continue to “serve its original purpose.” The ministry said it plans to ask North Korea why it withdrew its personnel last week.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jihye Lee in Seoul at jlee2352@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Niluksi Koswanage at nkoswanage@bloomberg.net, Jon Herskovitz, Colin Keatinge
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