South Korea and North Korea Were in Disaccord in Drawing Agreement Statement

The South Korean and North Korean delegation, attending the fourth day of the Eighth Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Promotion Committee Meeting, strove to reach an agreement statement on Thursday until 5pm, the scheduled closing time of the meeting, but failed to do so even until the last hours.

It has been said that North Korea and South Korea differed on their views of energy aid issues to companies entering the Gaeseong industrial complex and the opening date of the cross-border railway.

Nonetheless, South Korean official revealed that both sides in principle concurred on the dates for the ninth meeting and other conference meetings, the opening of committee’s office in Gaeseong industrial complex, and the joint project to prevent Imjin River from flooding.

Seung-Ryun Kim srkim@donga.com