South Korea's Unification Ministry urges North Korea to begin new year with 'dialogue'

In the latest development, South Korea’s Unification Ministry on Monday, December 27, urged North Korea to begin the new year by 'opening doors' for dialogue. The statement from Seoul’s Unification ministry comes ahead of a key party meeting which is planned by North Korea this week. In a press briefing, South Korea’s Unification Ministry spokesperson Lee Jong-joo mentioned that the plenary meeting which “usually” takes place for one to four days with “Kim Jong-un’s presence”, reported Yonhap News agency. 

Lee Jong-joo mentioned that South Korea is keeping an eye on the meeting for messages that they might receive on the relations between the two countries. She expressed that South Korea “hoped” that Pyongyang would "open the doors" for talks with the “international community” and initiate steps for “engagement and cooperation", as per the Yonhap News Agency report. Furthermore, they are waiting for a possible message on nuclear negotiations. Reportedly, in the meeting which will be held by North Korea, issues related to domestic and foreign policies will be discussed. 

North Korea ruling Workers Party plenary meeting

Earlier, North Korean authorities had announced that the ruling party is intending to organise a plenary meeting of its central committee. The ruling Workers Party announced that they were planning to hold a plenary meeting to discuss and make a decision on “work plans for the new year.” The statement from Lee Jong-joo comes as the nuclear talks between North Korea and the United States have stopped after the Hanoi summit which was organised in 2019. 

US-South Korea discuss ways on how to resume talks with North Korea

In November, the Senior South Korean and the US diplomats held talks on how to resume talks with North Korea. US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and South Korea Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink held discussions with his South Korean counterpart Yeo Seung-bae on issues related to security, according to AP.  Both sides discussed ways in order to restart talks with North Korea, AP cited the South Korean Foreign Ministry statement. During the meeting, Yeo Seung-bae and Daniel Kritenbrink held talks on economic cooperation, North Korea and other issues. Both sides underscored the need to have stability on the Korean Peninsula. Taking to Twitter, the US Embassy in South Korea informed that both sides discussed “how our Alliance can continue to promote the rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific & beyond.”

Inputs from AP

Image: AP