N Korea names delegates for meeting with South

Trump would 'absolutely' talk to Kim on phone

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FE Team | Published: January 07, 2018 21:38:22

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SEOUL, Jan 07 (Agencies): North Korea has sent a list of its delegation for a rare high-level meeting with the South this week, the unification ministry in Seoul said Sunday.
The two Koreas agreed Friday to hold their first official dialogue in more than two years and are expected to discuss the North's participation in next month's Winter Olympics in South Korea.
The North Korean delegation for Tuesday's meeting in the truce village of Panmunjom will be led by Ri Son-Gwon, the head of the North's agency handling inter-Korean affairs, the ministry said.
Pyongyang informed the South that four other officials will accompany Ri, it added, including those in charge of sports.
The tentative rapprochement comes after the North's leader Kim Jong-Un warned in his New Year speech that he had a nuclear button on his desk, but also said Pyongyang could send a team to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
Seoul responded with an offer of talks and last week the hotline between the neighbours was restored after being suspended for almost two years.
The message comes a day after South Korea suggested Unification Minister Cho Myoung-Gyon would lead its delegation for the upcoming talks.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he would "absolutely" be willing to talk on the phone to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and that he hopes a positive development results from talks between North Korea and South Korea.
North Korea agreed on Friday to hold official talks with South Korea next week, the first in more than two years, hours after Washington and Seoul delayed a military exercise amid a standoff over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs.
Trump, answering questions from reporters at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, expressed a willingness to talk to Kim but not without preconditions.
"Absolutely, I would do that," Trump said. "I have no problem with that at all."
Trump and Kim have exchanged insults ever since Trump took office, with Trump repeatedly calling Kim "rocket man" for testing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
Earlier this week Trump dismissed Kim's taunt that the North Korean leader has a nuclear button on his desk, saying he has a bigger button.
The talks between North Korea and South Korea are expected to cover the Winter Olympics, to be held in South Korea next month, and inter-Korean relations.
Trump suggested the talks might lead to an easing of tensions and took credit for the diplomatic breakthrough, saying it was a result of his steady pressure.
"Look, right now they're talking Olympics. It's a start, it's big start. If I weren't involved they wouldn't be talking at all right now," he said.
Kim "knows I'm not messing around. I'm not messing around. Not even a little bit, not even one percent. He understands that," said Trump.
"If something can come out of those talks, that would be a great thing for all of humanity, that would be a great thing for the world," he said.