ROK, DPRK to resume high-level contact Sunday afternoon

Hwang Pyong So (front, L), director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), and Kim Kwan-jin (front R), chief of the National Security Office of the Republic of Korea (ROK), shake hands prior to their meeting in the truce village of Panmunjom, Aug 22, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

SEOUL - The Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will resume the ongoing high-level emergency contact later Sunday after nearly 10 hours of their first-round talks, the ROK presidential office said.

Presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook told reporters that the senior-level contact lasted from 6:30 pm (0930 GMT) Saturday to 4:15 am Sunday at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarize zone (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas.

During the 10-hour marathon talks, both sides comprehensively discussed ways of resolving the recent situations and developing the inter-Korean relations, Min said.

After reviewing the positions of each other, the high-level contact will be resumed from 3 p.m. Sunday to narrow down differences, the spokesman added.

Top military aides to the leaders of the two Koreas met in Panmunjom, accompanied by high-ranking officials in charge of inter-Korean relations respectively.

Attendants at the closed-door meeting were Kim Kwan-jin, chief security advisor to ROK President Park Geun-hye, and Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo on the ROK side.

The DPRK side was represented by Hwang Pyong So, top military aide to top leader Kim Jong Un and director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, and the United Front Department director Kim Yang Gon.

Kim and Hwang started the meeting with a smiling face and handshake, according to TV footage aired by ROK broadcasters. They met in October last year when Hwang visited Incheon, the ROK's western port city, to attend the closing ceremony of the Asian Games hosted by the ROK.