Dialogue Returns to Korean Peninsula

(ATR) A 20-minute phone call between officials in North and South Korea reopens a dormant line of communication between the two countries.

The South Korean Ministry of Unification confirmed to reporters that a phone call took place today in the village in Panmunjom. The village is shared between North and South Korea in the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two countries.

The Panmunjom contact channel has not been used since 2015, and lay dormant after South Korea closed the Kaesong Industrial Complex in Feb. 2016. The complex is located in North Korea, but was staffed in part by skilled South Korean workers to help promote industrial collaboration.

A statement from the unification ministry to Yonhap said that it was a North Korean officials that contacted the line first. The phone call lasted 20 minutes and discussed technical operations of the line. South Korean officials had attempted to reach their Northern counterparts a day earlier to no avail.

"We will consult with North Korea over working-level issues in connection to our dialogue offer through the hotline," the unification ministry statement said.

The IOC, in a statement, said it welcomed dialogue on the Korean peninsula in an effort to ensure both Koreas participate at PyeongChang 2018. In a New Year’s Day address North Korean leader Un Jong Kim said it would be a "good opportunity" to send a delegation to the 2018 Winter Games. North Korea boycotted the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.

"In this context the IOC continues its discussions with the NOC of DPRK," an IOC spokesperson said. "To allow for such a participation in respect of the Olympic Charter, the IOC is keeping its invitation for a delegation of the NOC of DPRK open and will take the final decision in due time."

The North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that the call to South Korea was instructed by Kim directly. KCNA reported that Kim instructed leadership to work to "establish practical measures," regarding sending a delegation to PyeongChang 2018.

"The dispatch of the Korean delegation to the PyeongChang Olympic Games proposed by the New Year, and the North-South Korean authorities' talks for it, are meaningful and good first steps in improving the North-South relationship in the present situation," the KCNA report said.

Reports from South Korean media did not say if North Korea accepted a plan for talks on Jan. 9. A day after the press secretary for the White House stopped short at endorsing talks, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke with South Korean Foreign Minister Kyung Wha Kang.

In a readout of the call provided to Yonhap the pair "agreed to continue joint diplomatic efforts to attain a shared objective of peacefully resolving North Korea's nuclear problem through ironclad coordination".

Yonhap reported that Kang explained to Tillerson South Korea’s position for seeking talks.

The White House yesterday affirmed support for the South Korea-U.S. alliance, but said its policy towards North Korea had not changed over the prospect of dialogue. Previously, Tillerson had called for talks with North Korea without conditions, only to be undercut by President Donald Trump.

Trump tweeted last night that he possessed a "much bigger & more powerful" nuclear button than his North Korean counterpart. The button comment was in reference to a comment made in Kim’s New Year’s Day speech.

"And my Button works!" Trump ended his tweet.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also said the U.S. has not made a determination if it supports North Korea participating in PyeongChang 2018. A second follow up to her comments was not returned to Around the Rings.

As officials scramble for talks on the Korean Peninsula, Gangwon Province Governor Moon Soon Choi suggested that a joint Korean team could still compete at PyeongChang 2018.

Choi spearheaded talks with North Korean sports leaders on the sidelines of a youth football tournament in China last month. The meeting was first reported by the JoongAng Daily newspaper.

Choi reportedly offered a cruise ship to transport athletes from the North Korean port of Wonsan to Gangwon province. South Korean National Olympic Committee President Ki Heung Lee told local reporters in PyeongChang that he had spoken with Choi about the possibility of joint Korean teams at the 2018 Games. Choi has brought up the suggestion of a joint team repeatedly before North Korea signaled its intent to participate.

JoongAng Daily reported that Choi discussed a unified figure skating team with North Korean officials during the meeting in China.

"Talks of a unified Korean team may be premature now," Lee was quoted as saying byYonhap. "But if North Korea sends its delegation, we'll leave all possibilities open and try to ensure the Olympics' success.

North Korea has qualified athletes in figure skating to PyeongChang 2018. However, the country missed a deadline to register to compete in the 2018 Games. The IOC has signaled it would allow the pair to compete as a wildcard entry.

Any potential joint figure skating team would be rushed and come without years of practice. Suggestions have also been floated about adding North Korean women’s hockey players to the already qualified South Korean team. That could take away spots reserved for athletes that have practiced to make the team in South Korea.

"We'll talk with the IOC and try to find ways to build a unified team without sacrificing athletes who've been working so hard," Lee said.

A PyeongChang 2018 spokesperson told ATR that there is no comment to Choi’s suggestion of a unified figure skating team, but organizers are in constant contact with the IOC about late additions of athletes.

The spokesperson would not speculate as to the maximum number of athletes North Korea could bring to PyeongChang.

"We are talking to the IOC and [international federations] about areas of cooperation with DPRK," the spokesperson said.

Written by Aaron Bauer

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