韩朝联合联络处将于周五开放

North and South Korea will open a joint liaison office on Friday aimed at fostering cross-border communications and relations.

South Korea\'s Unification Ministry announced Wednesday the new office will be opened in the North Korean city of Kaesong, located near the border that splits the rivals.

The ministry says the liaison office will become "a round-the-clock consultation and communication channel" aimed at "easing military tensions and establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula."

Both nations will deploy up to 20 officials to staff the office.

The idea for the liaison office grew out of the April summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. It was scheduled to open last month, but was delayed due to an impasse between North Korea and the United States over the pace of North Korea\'s dismantling of its nuclear weapons program, a promise Kim Jong Un made during his summit with President Donald Trump in Singapore in June.

The situation has since improved after a South Korean presidential delegation traveled to Pyongyang last week and personally met with Kim, who passed on a letter to President Trump offering to engage in a second round of talks.

韩国统一部周三宣布，新联络处将设在朝鲜境内的开城，这座城市位于敌对的南北双方的分界线附近。

统一部表示，联络处将成为“全天候的咨询和沟通渠道”，以期“缓和军事紧张局势，在朝鲜半岛建立和平”。

南北双方将向联络处派驻多达20名官员。

开放联络办公室的想法是朝鲜领导人金正恩和韩国总统文在寅在今年4月的峰会上提出的，原本计划上个月开放，但由于朝鲜解除其核武器的行动停滞不前导致与美国陷入僵局而被推迟。金正恩今年6月在新加坡与美国总统特朗普的峰会期间作出朝鲜去核化的承诺。

自上周韩国总统代表团前往平壤并与金正恩会面后，情况有所改善。金正恩后来致函特朗普总统，提议举行第二次高峰会谈。