Seoul, Pyongyang discuss N.Korea's participation in Paralympic Games

North and South Korea began a working-level meeting on Tuesday to discuss the Pyongyang's participation in the Winter Paralympic Games in PyeongChang slated to begin from March 9.

The meeting was held inside the Tongilgak administrative building on the northern side of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) that divides the two countries, Seoul's unification ministry said in a statement.

The North Korean delegation was headed by Hwang Chung-song, a senior official at North Korea's state agency in charge of inter-Korean affairs, while that of the South was headed by Lee Joo-tae, director-general in charge of inter-Korean exchanges at the Reunification Ministry at Seoul, reports Efe news.

"We will do our best for the talks to maintain (the current) atmosphere (conducive to) an improvement for inter-Korean relations," Lee said.

The meeting follows the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games which ended on Sunday, to which North Korea had sent a delegation of athletes and performers.

The Games have led to the most significant diplomatic detente in years between the two neighbouring countries, which have technically been at war for 65 years.

At Tuesday's working-level meeting, the two Koreas were expected to discuss logistics and events in which North's paralympic athletes would compete.

The International Paralympics Committee's invitation is needed before North Korean athletes' are allowed to participate.

--IANS

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