Records of first inter-Korean talks since division declassified

North Korea

Published: 06 Jul. 2023, 18:50 Updated: 06 Jul. 2023, 19:13

Records of first inter-Korean talks since division declassified

The outside cover panel, left, and inside cover page of documents that detail talks between South and North Korea from November 1971 to June 1973. The Unification Ministry released 1,678 pages covering inter-Korean dialogue that took place from 1971 to 1979 on Thursday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

South Korea's Unification Ministry on Thursday declassified a third batch of documents detailing the first inter-Korean talks that took place following the 1948 division of the peninsula.

The documents, which consist of 1,678 pages, cover talks between Seoul and Pyongyang from November 1971 to February 1979.

The latest trove details secret communications between the two sides leading up to the announcement of the July 4 South-North Joint Communiqué of 1972, as well as inter-Korean talks that took place afterward.

The joint statement declared that Korean unification should take place without interference from or reliance on foreign powers, be pursued by peaceful means, and transcend differences in ideology and institutions. It also established the first direct communication hotline between the two sides.

The talks were initiated in 1971 by then-South Korean President Park Chung Hee around the same time that South Korea's ally, the United States, started making preparations for President Richard Nixon's 1972 landmark visit to China.

Historians believe Park reached out to Pyongyang amid fears of abandonment by Washington, which was pursuing détente with Beijing.

The ministry said the declassified documents shed light on the first official contacts between the two Koreas since national division and the official stances of the two Koreas on the issue of unification.

Thursday marks the third time that the documents related to inter-Korean talks have been disclosed to the public, following two separate releases last year.

The original documents can be viewed in dedicated reading rooms located at the ministry’s Office of the Inter-Korean Dialogue, National Institute for Unification Education, and Information Center for North Korea, or by filling out an online request form to the ministry.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]