Inter-Korean talks begin over South Korean arts troupe performance in North Korea
- 6 years ago
Another round of inter-Korean talks are in full swing, this time to arrange details for a South Korean arts troupe to visit Pyongyang.
They are currently meeting the village of Panmunjeom in the demilitarized zone.
We now connect to our Unification Ministry correspondent, Kwon Jang-ho, who is reporting from the Special Office for Inter-Korean dialogue in Seoul.
Jang-ho, how are the talks going.?
Good afternoon, Mark.
We received word that the South Korean delegation met with the North Korean representatives two hours ago, but so far no further details have been released.
Going from past experiences of these talks though, they are likely to have finished their first session of discussions before breaking up to review the details and have lunch.
The South's delegation is being led by Yun Sang, a singer and composer who was chosen by Seoul to be the director for the arts troupe.
He's accompanied by officials from the Unification Ministry and the Presidential Office.
The North Korean delegation is being led by Hyon Song-wol, the arts director for the troupe who performed in South Korea during last month's Winter Olympics.
A wide range of details are expected to be discussed, ranging from the date and time of the performance, to the number of performers and the type of music that will be played.
They might also talk about a preliminary visit for Yoon, so that he can inspect the venues, which is what the North Koreans did for their performances in the South.
So a lot to discuss. North Korea's performance in the South last month featured a mixture of North Korean songs, South Korean pop and even western music thrown in for good measure. What do we know so far about South Korea's plans for its performance?
Seoul's Unification Ministry said that it has agreed with the North for the arts performance to feature modern pop music, which is one of the reasons why it chose Yun Sang as art director.
Yun began his career in the early 90's and has worked with a wide range of artists, including modern K-pop groups.
Legendary artists such as Cho Yong-pil and Lee Sun-hee have already been tapped to perform.
They have actually performed in the North before, for previous similar exchanges in 2005 and 2003.
K-pop idol groups are expected to be involved as well.
They could also be joined on stage by North Korean singers, like they did for the performances here.
The concert will likely take place early April, a few weeks before the summit between the leaders of the two Koreas, which has been slated for late April.
Back to you, Mark.
They are currently meeting the village of Panmunjeom in the demilitarized zone.
We now connect to our Unification Ministry correspondent, Kwon Jang-ho, who is reporting from the Special Office for Inter-Korean dialogue in Seoul.
Jang-ho, how are the talks going.?
Good afternoon, Mark.
We received word that the South Korean delegation met with the North Korean representatives two hours ago, but so far no further details have been released.
Going from past experiences of these talks though, they are likely to have finished their first session of discussions before breaking up to review the details and have lunch.
The South's delegation is being led by Yun Sang, a singer and composer who was chosen by Seoul to be the director for the arts troupe.
He's accompanied by officials from the Unification Ministry and the Presidential Office.
The North Korean delegation is being led by Hyon Song-wol, the arts director for the troupe who performed in South Korea during last month's Winter Olympics.
A wide range of details are expected to be discussed, ranging from the date and time of the performance, to the number of performers and the type of music that will be played.
They might also talk about a preliminary visit for Yoon, so that he can inspect the venues, which is what the North Koreans did for their performances in the South.
So a lot to discuss. North Korea's performance in the South last month featured a mixture of North Korean songs, South Korean pop and even western music thrown in for good measure. What do we know so far about South Korea's plans for its performance?
Seoul's Unification Ministry said that it has agreed with the North for the arts performance to feature modern pop music, which is one of the reasons why it chose Yun Sang as art director.
Yun began his career in the early 90's and has worked with a wide range of artists, including modern K-pop groups.
Legendary artists such as Cho Yong-pil and Lee Sun-hee have already been tapped to perform.
They have actually performed in the North before, for previous similar exchanges in 2005 and 2003.
K-pop idol groups are expected to be involved as well.
They could also be joined on stage by North Korean singers, like they did for the performances here.
The concert will likely take place early April, a few weeks before the summit between the leaders of the two Koreas, which has been slated for late April.
Back to you, Mark.