Number of inter-Korean meetings at liaison office halved from last year

North Korea 14:41 September 27, 2019

SEOUL, Sept. 27 (Yonhap) -- About 50 meetings were held per month between South and North Korea at their joint liaison office in the North's border city of Kaesong in recent months, down about 50 percent from last year when exchanges were brisk, government data showed Friday.

A total of 47 meetings were held at the liaison office in August, compared with 103 in November of last year, according to unification ministry data submitted to Rep. Lee Seok-hyun of the ruling Democratic Party. The number of meetings totaled 48 in March, 46 in April, 53 in May, 54 in June and 55 in July.

The tally includes regular contacts between liaison officials of the two sides held twice a day.

The two Koreas launched the office in September last year for round-the-clock communication to help foster cross-border exchanges and agreed to hold a weekly meeting of its co-heads -- one from each side.

But inter-Korean exchanges have been stalled since February's no-deal Hanoi summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

North Korea is expected to resume talks with the U.S. in the coming weeks, but Pyongyang has been continuing its criticism of the South, blaming Seoul for damaging inter-Korean ties.