海角大神

North and South Korea negotiators agreed聽Wednesday聽in their first high-level talks in more than six years on the need to 鈥渟tart building trust,鈥� but remained apart on specific issues.

In lengthy hours of negotiations at the truce village of Panmunjom, however, North Korean negotiators hinted at a more flexible position on upcoming US-South Korean military exercises and plans for reunions later this month of families divided by the Korean War.

South Korea鈥檚 unification ministry, in a brief summary of the talks, said the North Korean team had called for postponing the war games until after the reunions. The summary鈥檚 wording suggests that North Korea may reluctantly go through with the reunions, which would last for several days and may be over before the exercises begin.

Although the talks yielded no real breakthrough, the 13 hours of facetime between the negotiators may signal that the North wants to soften its tough policy toward South Korea and the US while dealing with its own internal problems.

It was 鈥渆specially noteworthy that North Korea took the initiative of calling for the talks,鈥� said the ministry in its summary. A ministry official said the request was a surprise and 鈥渘ot something we expected from the North.鈥�

While the dialogue might have seemed frosty, the mood was a vast improvement over previous meetings that have been brief and acrimonious. The talks wound up with both sides agreeing on the need to 鈥渇ollow up鈥� with more meetings 鈥� though there was no indication of when. North Korea has indicated that family reunions, the first since 2010, are likely; a South Korean team visited the reunion site at Mt. Kumgang last weekend.

In its summary of Wednesday鈥檚 meeting, South Korea said the North had demanded an end to 鈥渉ostile military reaction" 鈥撀爄ncluding US-South Korean military exercises 鈥撀燼nd 鈥渢he cessation of propaganda.鈥� The South Korean response was that the North Korean position was not acceptable since the reunions are 鈥渂ased on genuine humanitarian issues鈥� while the exercises are an unrelated military issue.

The North Koreans also called for the South Korean government to stop media criticism of the North. The South Korean side 鈥渕ade clear,鈥� said the unification ministry, 鈥渢hat controlling the media cannot be done here.鈥�

The view in Seoul is that North and South are both looking for some measure of reconciliation. While North Korea wages what the South Korean media describes as a 鈥渃harm offensive,鈥� South Korea鈥檚 President Park Geun-hye is enunciating 鈥渢rustpolitik鈥� 鈥� a campaign to win the North鈥檚 trust for the mutual benefit of both Koreas.

The two sides seem to want badly to find common ground. 鈥淣orth Korea鈥檚聽peace offensive is like a clinch in boxing,鈥� says Choi Ji-wook, North Korea expert at the Korea Institute of National Unification. 鈥淚t is different from a hug.聽North Korea has all kinds of problems, internal uncertainties,鈥� referring to the purge of those associated with Jang Song-thaek, the top official who was executed in December for posing a challenge to dictator Kim Jong-un.

鈥淥f course, our government has to take a positive response,鈥� says Paik Hak-soon, director for North Korean studies at the Sejong Intitute, which often carries out research projects for the government. 鈥淭here will be positive results. South Korea cannot ignore the North鈥檚 initiative.鈥�

One reason is that President Park, immersed in domestic political problems, 鈥渋s very interested to cut down North Korean military provocations and reduce the level of tensions,鈥� says Shim Jae-hoon, a long-time political commentator here.

Both North and South Korea also are driven by pressure from powerful allies 鈥� China, the source of most of North Korea鈥檚 fuel and half its food, and the United States, which has about 29,000 troops in the South.

China sent a diplomatic delegation to North Korea last week for the first time since Jang Song-thaek鈥檚 execution, and US Secretary of State John Kerry arrives here聽Thursday聽for a day of talks before going on to Beijing聽on Friday.

鈥淣orth Korea is in a dire situation,鈥� says Mr. Shim. 鈥淣orth Korean sanctions are beginning to bite.鈥澛�