Inter-Korean talks were held for three consecutive days from last Saturday as the two Koreas’ military standoff persisted, but little to nothing has been made known to the public of the negotiations throughout the process.
Press were banned from joining the South Korean delegation to the House of Peace on the South Korean side of the border, a rare prohibition that was placed most recently in February last year when another set of high-level talks were held between the two Koreas to make a decision on cross-border family reunions.
Top South Korean officials have remained silent over the issues of the talks, despite growing public curiosity over what is being discussed, citing the fragility of the talks.
Officials instead explained any outcome of the negotiation will be revealed in briefs only from Cheong Wa Dae in an apparent move to control the flow of information.
“If the information of the ongoing talks were revealed, it could possibly pose negative impacts on the talks, as the North keeps monitoring the South Korean media,” sources said.
Some observers said that the current talks should be viewed as equivalent to indirect talks between the two leaders of the Koreas as President Park Geun-hye has reportedly been receiving updates overnight and directing the negotiation.
The unusual stretch of the talks also indicates that the representatives are negotiating on strict orders from the leaders, they suggested.
“About 700 inter-Korean talks have been held since the peninsula was divided, but this current talk is unprecedentedly long, continuing the talks all night for consecutive days. It can be seen that nearly all of the major inter-Korean issues are being discussed,” sources said.
Overnight talks did take place in 2013 when the two Koreas met to solve the Gaeseong Industrial Complex shutdown issue. That meeting lasted for less than 20 hours.
Meanwhile, the South Korean political parties vowed to pursue nonpartisan cooperation, urging for a resolution to quell the high-flying cross-border tensions.
Rep. Moon-jae in, the leader of the main opposition New politics Alliance for Democracy, however, pointed out that information of the talks should be at least partially released.
“It’s sad that the (South Korean) politicians and public are not aware of the exact situation of the talks. (The lawmakers) do not know anything about the talks. If we did know about how it is being proceeded, both parties could jointly cope with it,” Moon said at the party’s meeting.
By Lee Hyun-jeong (rene@heraldcorp.com)
