韩国提议与朝鲜举行高层会谈

South Korea is offering to hold high-level talks with bitter rival North Korea over the possibility of the North participating in the upcoming Winter Olympics being held in South Korea.

Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said Tuesday Seoul wants to meet North Korean diplomats in exactly one week in the truce village of Panmunjom, located in the demilitarized zone that separates the North and South. The meeting would be the first high-level talks between Seoul and Pyongyang since December 2017.

Seoul's offer comes one day after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un used his annual New Year's Day address to announce he is considering sending a team to take part in next month's Olympic games in Pyeongchang.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in welcomed Kim's suggestion, but said any improvements in North and South relations must occur in tandem with Pyongyang abandoning its nuclear weapons program.

韩国提出与对手朝鲜举行高层对话，商讨朝鲜参加将在韩国举行的冬季奥运会的可能。

韩国统一部长官赵明均星期二说，韩国希望一星期后在分割朝鲜半岛南北方的非军事区的板门店停战村与朝鲜外交官会谈。这将是2017年12月以来首尔和平壤之间的第一次高层会谈。

韩国建议会谈前一天，朝鲜领导人金正恩在他的新年讲话中宣布他考虑派遣运动队参加下个月在平昌举行的冬奥会。

韩国总统文在寅对金正恩的建议表示欢迎，但是说，朝鲜必须首先放弃核武器计划，然后朝鲜和韩国之间的关系才可能改善。