Seoul plans to work on resuming the dialogue with North Korea despite Pyongyang's decision to skip the Tokyo Olympics, a high-level official from South Korea's Ministry of Unification told Yonhap on Wednesday
SEOUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th April, 2021) Seoul plans to work on resuming the dialogue with North Korea despite Pyongyang's decision to skip the Tokyo Olympics, a high-level official from South Korea's Ministry of Unification told Yonhap on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, North Korean sports ministry announced the country's decision to skip the summer Olympics in Tokyo for the first time since 1988 due to COVID-19 concerns.
"There is still time left until July. We will continue efforts to revive inter-Korean relations through various opportunities while keeping an eye on the situation," the anonymous unification ministry official was cited as saying by Yonhap.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in expressed hopes that the Tokyo Olympics could boost the revival of the inter-Korean dialogue and set the grounds for the negotiations between North Korea and Japan.
North Korea has been under the Japanese sanctions since 2006. On Tuesday, Tokyo extended the period by another two years ahead of the upcoming talks between Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and US President Joe Biden.
The Summer Olympics in Tokyo were initially scheduled for 2020 but were postponed in the spring of last year amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Games are currently scheduled for this summer, from July 23 until August 8. The Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will be held without foreign spectators due to safety concerns.
