Ministerial-Level Talks Ruptured Next Month`s Displaced Family Reunions Cancelled

The 6th North-South Ministerial-Level Meeting that South and North Korea had from Nov. 9 was ruptured finally. It is for the first time since the South-North Korea summit meeting in June that the ministerial level talks ended with no agreement. Accordingly, there arises a concern that South-North relationships may remain frozen for a long period.

The South and North delegations failed to reach an agreement at the executive meeting that continued until the morning of Nov. 14 regarding the location for the second meeting of the economic cooperation committee, and thus concluded the talks after the final plenary meeting for 15 minutes from 7:00 AM. The South delegation left the Jangjeon Port by the cruise ship named Seolbong about 8 o’clock in the morning and returned in the afternoon.

The South and North delegations had a head delegation meeting on the night of Nov. 13 and an executive meeting on the dawn of Nov. 14 to discuss the plan to exercise the agreement at the fourth ministerial-level meeting, including the fourth round of displaced family reunions and the second meeting of the economic cooperation committee and the issue of calling off South Korea`s emergency alert status, but they failed to narrow the gap between the two sides. With regard to the location for the second meeting of the economic cooperation committee, the South held to Seoul whereas the North insisted upon the Mount Kumgang.

For the South and North delegation failed to release a joint statement for the press, the tentative agreement to conduct the displaced family reunions twice from Dec. 10 in the Mount Kumgang was nullified as well. The two sides also failed to determine when and where to have the 7th ministerial-level meeting.

spear@donga.com