Delegations from two Koreas discuss details for high－level talks 남북당국회담 실무접촉 진

The two Koreas are holding working－level talks at the inter－Korean border on this Thursday. North and South Korean officials met for talks earlier this Thursday... it′s roughly xx past 10 p.m. here in Seoul and the talks are STILL ongoing. The talks today are a fresh attempt at dialogue between the two Koreas， which have all－but cut off ties since 2010 when a South Korean navy ship was destroyed by a torpedo fired from a North Korean submarine. Pyongyang denies any role. It′s also the fruit of a long time in the works，... with Seoul having to wait two months for Pyongyang to respond to its proposals. Will this working－level talks lead way to higher－level talks in the near future？ Our Song Ji－sun has been on this story since early morning... she joins us from Seoul′s Unification Ministry. Jisun，... do we have any news from the delegation at the border outpost？ Conn－young. The plenary session of the talks began at 12：50 this afternoon... and lasted for 90 minutes， with the two sides exchanging their proposals for the high－level talks， each represented by three officials. Seoul′s Unification Ministry official in charge of inter－Korean dialogue， Kim Ki－woong... and Pyongyang′s senior official from its unification agency Hwang Chol are each leading the delegations. As the delegations are meeting on the North′s side of the border village of Panmunjeom， we are not receiving real－time feeds here in Seoul... but the talks are ongoing at the moment. Speaking of which... today′s meeting started nearly two and a half hours late than scheduled，.. . due to technical glitches with the communication lines at the venue. Same delay happened in the previous talks in 2013. The working－level talks is held to prepare and lay the groundwork for high－level talks... including the agenda， venue， schedule and rank of the participants. Officials Seoul′s Unification Ministry told reporters that there are outstanding differences in the stances， in ALL aspects，... but added ′gaps could be narrowed′ if they go on with negotiations. Seoul has proposed ministerial－level talks between Unification Minister Hong Yong－pyo and his North Korean counterpart Kim Yang－gon，... but we′ll have to see if the North accepts that. What to include on the agenda could be another stumbling block. On top of Seoul′s priority list is reunions for war－separated families. The South Korean government wants them to be held on a regular basis，... but North Korea is more interested in getting South Korea to resume tours to its Mount Kumgang resort. Seoul halted tours to the area after a South Korean tourist was shot dead by a North Korean soldier in 2008. Today′s talks are in line with an agreement reached on August 25th， in which the two sides pledged to improve inter－Korean relations and expand civilian exchanges. Last month′s family reunions were also part of that agreement. The two Koreas will try to reach a common ground for the high－level talks to happen... but a following work