S. Korea, DPRK to hold additional working-level talks this week to prepare summit

South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) planned to hold more working-level talks this week to prepare for the upcoming inter-Korean summit later this month, Seoul's unification ministry said Monday.

Baik Tae-hyun, spokesman of the Unification Ministry, gestures toward a reporter waiting to ask a question as he holds a press conference at a government complex in Seoul, South Korea, February 19, 2018. [File Photo: IC]

Unification Ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun told a routine press briefing that working-level dialogue to prepare for the inter-Korean summit is scheduled once or twice this week.

Some issues, Baik said, are left to be discussed between working-level officials of the two Koreas regarding protocol, security and media coverage for the summit as well as the establishment of hotline between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un.

Moon and Kim agreed to hold their first summit on April 27 at the border village of Panmunjom. Before the summit, the two leaders agreed to set up a hotline between them and hold their first phone conversation.

Working-level officials from the two sides met last week to discuss the hotline issue and the preparation issue for the summit, such as protocol, security and media coverage.

The two sides allegedly planned to hold another senior-level talks around April 18 to finalize preparations for the Moon-Kim summit.