2 Koreas Agree in Principle to Resume Talks

North and South Korea agreed in principle Wednesday to resume border talks aimed at arranging an interparliamentary conference in Pyongyang by the end of the month, reviving some hope that the north might abandon its Olympic boycott.

Although chances appeared slim that the two sides could resolve their differences over North Korea’s participation in the Seoul Olympics, which begin Sept. 17 in the South Korean capital, it remains possible that they could agree at least to discuss the problem in earnest.

Preliminary talks between five-member delegations of lawmakers from the north and the south broke off Monday after a third negotiating session in which no progress was made on deciding the agenda and the format of a large-scale, main meeting.

But the heads of the two delegations met privately Wednesday at the truce village of Panmunjom and agreed to try to reopen talks by the end of the week.

The North Korean side has not yet formally accepted the south’s proposal to meet Friday, but it agreed in principle to meet again, Park Jun Kyu, chief of the South Korean delegation, told reporters in Seoul.

Park said he is optimistic that the north will now compromise on its demands.

“I hope the north will come up with some amended proposals,” he said.

The North Korean delegation had insisted that the full membership of the two national assemblies meet in Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital, joined by representatives of social organizations in a “mass participatory meeting” involving about 1,000 delegates.

The south had dismissed such a forum as unreasonable and counterproposed that 20-member delegations meet for the main parley. It also asked that two meetings be held for separate discussions on the Olympics and on a proposed nonaggression accord.

Park would not disclose whether he had dropped the demand for separate meetings in Pyongyang, saying his discussion with Chon Kum Chol, chief delegate for the north, was confidential.

Park said the south has set a cutoff date of Aug. 31 for convening the main talks, originally proposed by Pyongyang after Seoul’s National Assembly appealed to North Korea to end its Olympic boycott.

North Korea declared the boycott last year after the two sides failed to agree on a plan to co-host the Games.