North and South Korea have opened their first joint liaison office along with the fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) ahead of the third summit between South Korean president Moon Jae-in and North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un on Sept. 18.
The liaison office is located at the North Korean border town of Kaesong and inside a jointly owned industrial park. It will facilitate better communications between both Korea's during the summit to be held in Pyongyang. The office is the first of its kind since both countries were divided at the end of World War II.
The opening of this office is the latest in a series of reconciliatory steps the rival Koreas have taken so far this year in a bid to officially end the Korean War and probably set the stage for the peaceful reunification of both countries.
The liaison office will be headed by senior unification officials from both countries. Some 20 South Koreans will work here during regular office hours; sleep at nearby homes on weekdays and take turns staffing the office on weekends. The liaison office is a big improvement over the previous situation where both sides used telephones and faxed each other to stay in touch.
The new office will become the cradle of Korean co-prosperity, said South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon during the opening ceremony. He noted both sides will sit face-to-face, quickly exchange ideas and cooperate to resolve difficult problems. Ri Son Gwon, chairman of the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, said the liaison office will help the Koreas hold "candid conversations" and build stronger ties.
The resumption of operations at the Kaesong industrial complex and other dormant inter-Korean projects, however, aren't likely to occur soon because international sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs remain in place.
The office's opening came four days ahead of a summit between Moon and Kim on Sept. 18. The meeting, the third between both leaders this year, will discuss common issues, including the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
Moon will fly to Pyongyang on Tuesday and said his three-day trip will focus on facilitating talks between the U.S. and North Korea. He will also try to find ways to mitigate the military standoff along the heavily fortified DMZ. The two Koreas on Sept. 14 agreed that segments of the summit will be broadcast live on the television stations of both countries.
