Seoul, Jan 17 (IANS) South and North Korea began their second high-level meeting on Wednesday to discuss North Korea's participation in the Winter Olympic Games to be held in South Korea.
The Winter Olumpic Games will begin on February 9 in the South Korean county of Pyeongchang.
This is the second high-level inter-Korean meeting in little more than a week, after both countries held their first such meeting in two years on January 9, Efe reported.
Both countries agreed to convene future military meetings to avoid further conflicts and to discuss the appointment of a North Korean delegation to Pyeongchang.
The South Korean delegation is led by Deputy Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung, while the three-member North Korean delegation is led by Jon Jong-su, vice chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country (CPRC), an organization in charge of inter-Korean affairs.
The meeting will be carried out "in a calm manner, on the basis of the spirit of mutual respect and understanding," South Korean Vice Unification Minister Chun said.
During the meeting, North Korea is expected to announce its decision on South Korea's offer to march together during the opening and closing parades of the games, as well as on whether or not North Korea will allow its athletes to officially compete in the events.
However, Pyongyang has yet to respond to the request made by Seoul on January 9 to hold a meeting in mid-February for families whose members were separated by the 1950-1953 Korean Wars.
South Korea's vice Unification Minister noted that, given the approaching start of the 2018 Winter Olympics, it is very likely that the Wednesday dialogue will focus only on the sports event.
