Two Koreas break the ice in time for Olympic Games

North and South Korea’s first official talks in two years have eased global fears of nuclear conflict.

South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, left, with his North counterpart Ri Son-gwon yesterday. Picture: AP

North Korean figure skaters Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-sik are poised to be the faces of peace hopes after their country’s first official talks with South Korea in two years eased global fears of nuclear conflict and cleared the way for them to compete at the Winter Olympics next month.

After talks with Seoul’s Unification Minister, Cho Myoung-gyon, the Kim regime’s chief delegate, Ri Son-gwon, said the North would send athletes and a delegation to the Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, on February 9. The agreement revived an Olympic Games-brokered peace plan that started in Sydney in 2000.

The two sides agreed to the resumption of military talks to defuse tensions and Mr Cho said the North had agreed to restore a military hotline closed for two years from 8am today (10am AEST), a week after a civilian line was reopened.

At a meeting in truce village Panmunjom, Mr Cho also urged that reunions of families divided by the 1950-53 Korean War be held at the same time as the Games.

Seoul’s team expressed interest in discussing the North’s nuclear program — after months of unprecedented vitriol between dictator Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump over missile tests — but did not receive a clear answer, according to South Korean Vice-Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop gave a guarded welcome to the talks, saying she hoped the discussions over the Olympics could lead to a broader negotiation over North Korea’s nuclear strategy.

Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-sik qualify for the Olympics in Germany last year. Picture: AP

“Australia welcomes the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue in preparation for the upcoming Winter Olympics and we hope this meeting contributes to a successful Olympics,” Ms Bishop said. “We also hope it opens the door for negotiations to achieve a denuclearised Korean peninsula, consistent with UN ­Security Council sanctions.”

Seoul suggested the two teams march together at the opening ceremony. South Korea also called for Red Cross talks.

“The North side proposed dispatching a high-level delegation, a National Olympic Committee delegation, athletes, supporters, art performers, observers, a taekwondo demonstration team and journalists,” Mr Chun said.

Mr Ri said: “Let’s present the people with a precious new year’s gift. There is a saying that a journey taken by two lasts longer than the one travelled alone.”

The atmosphere was friendlier than at past meetings, and Mr Cho told Mr Ri that Seoul believed “guests from the North are going to join many others from all around the world” at the Olympics. “The people have a strong ­desire to see the North and South move toward peace and reconciliation,” he said.

Seoul has been keen to proclaim the Games in PyeongChang, 80km south of the demilitarised zone, as a “peace Olympics” in the wake of the missile and nuclear tests last year by the North. If the North competes next month, one of the top agenda items will be whether the two ­Koreas’ sportspeople make joint entrances to the opening and closing ceremonies, as they did for the first time at the 2000 Sydney Games, before repeating the gesture in Athens in 2004 and the 2006 Winter Games in Turin.

Athletes from the North and South were greeted with applause in Sydney when they marched out together at the opening ceremony under a unification flag and with a placard simply saying “Korea”.

A South Korean soldier patrols the road to the Unification Bridge. Picture: Getty Images

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has made concessions to secure the North’s participation in the Games. Mr Moon last week secured Mr Trump’s agreement to postpone joint military exer­cises until after the Paralympics, and he ­offered to cover all the costs of the North Koreans at PyeongChang.

Five senior officials participated in yesterday’s talks from each side. In keeping with the custom of all North Koreans who travel abroad, Pyongyang’s team wore badges with the faces of founder Kim Il-sung and his son Kim Jong-il, the father of the current ruler. Mr Cho wore a lapel badge depicting the South Korean flag.

Mr Ri crossed the most heavily militarised border in the world with a delegation that included Ri Kyong-sik, a member of the country’s Olympic Com­mittee.

The chief North Korean negotiator said that it was no exaggeration to say the relationship between the countries was more frozen than the icy weather during the meeting. He said it had been 18 years since a 2000 declaration of detente. Mr Cho said the talks promised well for a renewal of relations, citing a Korean saying: “A start takes us halfway there.” He said the talks would be conducted “without haste, with patience”.

Both nations’ leaders followed the talks in real time and also had a capacity to contact their teams.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, who welcomed North Korea’s Olympic participation, said his country would continue to pressure the Kim regime to change its policies.

Although the registration deadline for the Games has expired, the International Olympic Committee has confirmed it will permit qualified North Korean athletes to participate. Ryom and Kim earned a place at the Games in Germany in September.

Additional reporting: Agencies