SEOUL: South Korea's Unification Minister Cho Myoung-Gyon speaks during a press conference at a government complex on Tuesday. — AFP SEOUL, Jan 02 (Agencies): South Korea on Tuesday offered talks with North Korea amid a standoff over its weapons programmes, a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he was open to negotiations.
Kim used his annual New Year address to warn he has a "nuclear button" on his table, but sweetened his remarks by expressing an interest in dialogue and taking part in the Pyeongchang Games next month.
The offer for high-level talks next Tuesday had been discussed with the United States, the South's unification minister said, while a decision on whether to push back a massive joint military drill between South Korea and the United States until after the Winter Olympics was pending.
Tension has been rising over North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes, which it pursues in defiance of years of UN Security Council resolutions, with bellicose rhetoric coming from both Pyongyang and the White House. The North sees the regular war drills between the South and the United States as preparations for war.
"We look forward to candidly discussing interests from both sides face-to-face with North Korea along with the North's participation in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics," Unification Minister Cho Myong-gyon told reporters.
"I repeat, the government is open to talking with North Korea, regardless of time, location and form."
Cho said he expects the dialogue at the border village of Panmunjom, if it happens, to be focused on North Korea's participation at the Olympics, but other issues would likely arise, including the denuclearisation of North Korea.
Should the talks be held on Jan 9, it would be the first such dialogue since a vice-ministerial meeting in December 2015. The offer landed after a New Year's Day speech by Kim who said he was "open to dialogue" with Seoul, and for North Korean athletes to possibly take part in the Winter Games, but he persistently declared North Korea a nuclear power.
After welcoming Kim's address, South Korean President Moon Jae-in had asked his government earlier in the day to move as quickly as possible to bring North Korea to the Olympics. Chun Yung-woo, a former South Korean national security adviser, said Seoul should have taken more time before answering.
"I regret the government had even lost the flexibility to spend one day or two taking a deep breath and meticulously analysing Kim Jong Un's ulterior motive before hastily issuing a welcoming statement," he said.
"The government will have to strive more to come up with a countermeasure not to get caught in a trap set by Kim Jong Un."
Choi Moon-soon, governor of Gangwon Province where the Olympics are to be held next month, has proposed South Korea send cruise ships to bring North Korean athletes and officials to Pyeongchang, according to South Korean media.
Choi met North Korean sports official Mun Woong in China on Dec 18 on the sidelines of a international youth football tournament where North and South Korea soccer teams competed, the Dong-A Ilbo newspaper reported.
The governor did not immediately respond to a request by Reuters for comment.
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