Pakistan welcomes talks between South and North Korea

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has welcomed the recent talks held between the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea (DPRK), and said these would lead to lasting peace, prosperity, stability, reconciliation and cooperation in the region

The Foreign Office in a statement said that Pakistan hopes that this new phase of talks between the two sides would help to ease tensions in the Korean Peninsula and the goodwill generated by the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics would encourage lasting peace.

Pakistan has always encouraged the DPRK and RoK to resume meaningful negotiations and supported all efforts for smooth reunification of the Korean Peninsula including the two Summits between North and South Korea in June 2000 and 2007, the statement said.

The Foreign Office added that it has been Pakistan's consistent position that all relevant parties should comply with their international obligations, pursue the path of dialogue and diplomacy to reduce tensions and work towards achieving a comprehensive solution.

North Korea and South Korea had agreed to hold working-level talks at the Tongil Pavilion on the North Korean side of the truce village of Panmunjom on Jan. 15, South Korea’s unification ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

Officials from the two Koreas, technically still at war after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty, subsequently met on the North side of the border truce village of Panmunjom to discuss North Korea sending performers - for the first time in 18 years - to the Olympics in Pyeongchang.