Koreas to hold working-level talks today

Seoul [South Korea]: North and South Korea will hold working-level talks on Thursday to discuss the issue of cross-border roads.
The meeting is scheduled to take place on the northern side of the truce village of Panmunjom at 10 am (local time), Yonhap News Agency reported.

The South Korean delegation will be led by Vice Transport Minister Kim Jeong-ryeol, while a delegation from North Korea will be led by Vice Minister for Environmental Protection, Pak Yong-ho.

The two sides are expected to enhance inter-Korean cooperation by discussing ways to link and modernise cross-border roads as part of the agreement reached by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in in the inter-Korean summit on April 27.

Despite the fact that the current sanctions bar economic cooperation with Pyongyang, Seoul is expected to take up relevant matters via a joint study.

Earlier on Tuesday, the two Koreas held discussions on railway collaboration and agreed to conduct a joint study on upgrading the northern sections of railways in eastern and western parts of the Korean Peninsula.

Last week, North and South Korea have agreed to hold reunions of families who were separated in the six-decade-long Korean War in North Korea, from August 20 to 26.

The agreement was made during a Red Cross meeting at a hotel on Mount Kumgang in North Korea, involving delegations from the two Koreas.

The delegations discussed other humanitarian issues and agreed to exchange the final lists of people who will join the reunion events by August 4.

As per a joint statement, Seoul will send its advance team to Mount Kumgang to make necessary preparations for the reunions.
This is the first such event being held since October 2015.

Meanwhile, the two Koreas agreed to hold working-level Red Cross talks to further discuss the family reunions and other humanitarian issues to further bolster inter-Korean cooperation.