2nd LD: DPRK, S.Korea agree to hold military talks, Pyongyang to send team to Winter Olympics

SEOUL, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and South Korea have agreed at the just-ended inter-Korean dialogue to hold separate military talks, with the DPRK also consenting to send a delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics to be hosted by Seoul next month, Seoul's Unification Ministry said Tuesday.

Two five-member delegations from both sides held the high-level, inter-governmental dialogue at Peace House, a South Korean building in the truce village of Panmunjom that straddles the heavily guarded border between the two neighbors.

A joint press release issued after the dialogue said the DPRK had agreed to send a delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics to kick off in February in South Korea's eastern county of Pyeongchang, and the 2018 Paralympics in March.

Seoul and Pyongyang also consented to hold a separate dialogue between their military authorities after agreeing that they should make joint efforts to ease military tensions, create a peaceful environment on the Korean Peninsula, and promote reconciliation and unity of the two Koreas.

To promote reconciliation and unity between their people across the border, the two Koreas agreed to activate contact, exchanges and cooperation in diverse areas.

The agreement came after the first high-level talks between the two in about two years. It was the first inter-Korean dialogue since South Korean President Moon Jae-in took office last May.

The signs of a thaw in inter-Korean relations came as the DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un said in his New-Year address that his country was willing to participate in the Winter Olympics and talk with Seoul about it. Enditem