hankyoreh

May 4. (by Lee Jong-geun

North and South Korea are having their first preliminary contacts in five years for a joint event to mark the 15th anniversary of the June 15 Joint Declaration of 2000.

“We have granted approval for preliminary direct contacts for a joint inter-Korean event for the June 15 Joint Declaration as requested on Apr. 30 by the ‘preparatory committee for joint Korean events for the 70th anniversary of independence,’” the Ministry of Unification said on May 4.

With the approval, a total of eight officials, including five members of the South Korean preparatory committee’s delegation, are set to meet with their North Korean counterparts in Shenyang, China, on May 5-6 to discuss plans for the joint event. Kim Wan-su, chairman of North Korea’s committee for implementation of the June 15 Joint Declaration, will reportedly be part of the North Korean delegation.

Seoul’s approval for the preliminary meeting could raise the likelihood that a main event planned for Seoul on June 14-16 will also go ahead. If the joint event does take place this year, it would the first in the seven years since 2008. Preliminary meetings have also been disallowed since 2010.

“Whether to approve the joint June 15 event or other events is a matter to be decided separately after seeing the results of the meetings,” said a Ministry of Unification official.

The approval decision has been read as Seoul’s attempt to bring Pyongyang on board with its own joint inter-Korean events planned for the 70th anniversary of Korean liberation from Japanese occupation. The Ministry of Unification previously granted sweeping permissions on May 1 for inter-Korean exchange by local governments and private groups for the anniversary, while announcing its own plans to commemorate it with joint cultural, historical, and sports efforts by authorities.

By Kim Oi-hyun, staff reporter

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