Talks underway over DPRK's dispatch of art troupe to ROK-hosted Winter Olympics

SEOUL -- Working-level talks between the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) were underway Monday over the DPRK's dispatch of art troupe to the ROK-hosted Winter Olympics, Seoul's unification ministry said.

Unification Ministry spokesman Baek Tae-hyun told a press briefing that the working-level dialogue was underway at Tongilgak, a building controlled by the DPRK in the truce village of Panmunjom, which straddles the inter-Korean land border.

The dialogue kicked off at about 10:11 am local time (0111 GMT) to discuss the DPRK's dispatch of its art troupe to the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games slated to run from February to March at ROK's eastern county of Pyeongchang.

On the dialogue agenda would be schedule, venue and formation of the performance the DPRK art group will do in Pyeongchang.

Meanwhile, Seoul offered last week to Pyongyang holding vice ministerial-level talks to discuss the DPRK's dispatch of all other delegations to Pyeongchang, including athletes and cheering squads.

Baek said the DPRK is expected to respond to the dialogue overture within this week, noting that the two Koreas exchanged positions with each other over the weekend via the restored hotline of direct dialogue in Panmunjom.

The ROK and the DPRK held the first high-level talks early last week in about two years, agreeing that the DPRK will send its delegation to the Winter Olympics.

The two sides also agreed to hold a separate dialogue on military affairs to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.