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‘Very Good Day’: North, South Korean Tensions Eased at Border Meeting

© AP Photo / Ahn Young-joonThis Oct. 30, 2017, photo show visitors posing with the Olympic Rings at the Gyeongpodae beach, in Gangneung, South Korea
This Oct. 30, 2017, photo show visitors posing with the Olympic Rings at the Gyeongpodae beach, in Gangneung, South Korea - Sputnik International
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The joint decision made by the North and South Korean governments to reopen a disconnected military hotline channel and for North Korea to send a delegation to next month’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang is “truly amazing,” a top policy researcher told Radio Sputnik Tuesday.

"The delegation is going to be the largest ever" sent by Pyongyang, Simone Chun, a US professor and fellow at the Korea Policy Institute, told Loud & Clear.

​"The delegation will include athletes, North Korea's famous cheering squad — beautiful ladies — cultural performers, a Taekwondo demonstration team, and a full press corps," Chun said. One of the most famous of North Korea's cheerleaders, who are known as the "army of beauties" in South Korea, appeared at the 2005 Asian Games in Incheon. The then-16-year-old named Ri Sol-ju is now married to her country's supreme leader, Kim Jong-un.

"North Korea has really stressed the importance of the Koreans themselves — inter-Korean collaboration to address the issues facing the Korean Peninsula," she noted, adding that North Korea supports "creating an environment for a peace process."

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The talks lasted more than 10 hours and both the South Korean and North Korean officials had "a very friendly, cordial interaction," Chun told Sputnik. Moving forward, the renewed hotline will focus on easing military tensions, she said.

Despite threatening the "total destruction" of North Korea during his first address to the United Nations General Assembly, US President Donald Trump told reporters Sunday, "If something can happen and something can come out of those talks, that would be a great thing for all of humanity. That would be a great thing for the world."

"All things considered, I think this has been a very good day," Chun concluded. "I was very impressed by the unity and coherence" of the joint statement released by Seoul and Pyongyang following the 10 hours of talks, she said.

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