Senior Officials from Both Koreas to Meet This Week

Senior officials from South Korea and North Korea have agreed to meet on Thursday, April 9. According to the official website of the South Korean Ministry of Unification, the meeting will take place in the border village of Panmunjom in North Korea and is a precursor to a meeting between the leaders of the two countries next month. The report adds that on Saturday, North Korea informed its southern neighbor that a three-member team led by Ri Son-gwon, head of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, will participate in the negotiations. The South Korean Ministry of Unification also reported four days prior to the committee's press conference that North Korea had invited 160 South Korean music artists to visit Pyongyang. Recently, a team of senior North Korean officials, including Kim Jong-un's sister and Ri Son-gwon, was dispatched to participate in the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, marking a significant milestone in relations between the two countries. Following this visit, the North Korean leader invited Donald Trump, the President of the United States, for a bilateral meeting, which received a positive response. In this context, Reuters reports that the upcoming meeting of senior officials from both Koreas is highly significant, as a meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un is likely to take place in late May. Reuters notes that Trump has appointed John Bolton, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (for one year during George W. Bush's presidency), as his national security advisor this week, a person known for his hardline views on North Korea. Trump recently also dismissed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson over what he called 'disagreements on the issue of Iran and some foreign policy matters.' The U.S. President replaced Tillerson with Mike Pompeo, who has been known for his hardline views on North Korea and Iran since the beginning of Trump's presidency as the head of the CIA. South Korean news agency Yonhap also reported that while Bolton's tenure is likely to take about a month and a half to begin, relations between the U.S. and North Korea are expected to worsen due to his very hardline stance on Pyongyang. The news agency published the views of several senior experts who say that if the meeting between the U.S. and North Korean leaders does not yield desired results, the likelihood of war will be high. The meeting of senior officials from both Koreas is scheduled for the end of April, one month before the meeting of the North Korean and U.S. leaders.