hankyoreh

on the morning of Feb. 12. (provided by the Ministry of Unification)

By Choi Hyun-june, staff reporter

The first high-level meeting in seven years between South and North Korea on Feb. 13 was conducted under conditions of top secrecy. The South Korean government did not disclose either the introductory remarks made by the delegation leaders, or details about the agenda for the talks. Even after the meeting ended past midnight on Feb. 13, the content of the discussions remained a secret, with no joint report issued on it by both sides.

Reporters were also excluded from covering the event. In the past, members of the press had been present at senior-level governmental talks between North and South Korea, but none was allowed access to the scene of the meeting this time. Also, while Seoul delivered periodic updates on the progress of past talks, it remained tight-lipped this time, mentioning only that discussions included the family reunions - which had been the only agenda item disclosed the day before.

“North Korea demanded a closed-door meeting from the get-go, and the talks are taking place in accordance with that,” said a senior official in the Unification Ministry on condition of anonymity. “The Blue House gave instructions to adhere to a principal of confidentiality until the senior representative gave a briefing.”

Indeed, North Korea reportedly demanded confidentiality from the time it first proposed the meeting on Feb. 8. Seoul only announced plans for the meeting after reaching an agreement on it on the afternoon of Feb. 11.

North Korea’s request for confidentiality was rigidly upheld during the actual meeting. Now the question remains about the reasons it wanted to keep things behind closed doors. One possibility mentioned is that it may have wanted to discuss major issues that required ongoing secrecy.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]