South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) kicked off high-level talks Monday in the border village of Panmunjom to discuss ways to implement the Pyongyang Declaration, which the leaders of the two Koreas announced in the latest summit in Pyongyang in September.

　　South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon (right) and Ri Son Gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland of DPRK shake hands in the border village of Panmunjom on October 15, 2018. [Photo: IC]

　　The senior-level dialogue started at 10:00 a.m. local time (0100 GMT) as scheduled at the Peace House, a South Korean building in the truce village, according to a pool report from South Korean media.

　　The five-member South Korean delegation was led by Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon.

　　Before heading to the dialogue venue, Cho told reporters that the dialogue agenda would be the implementation of the Pyongyang Declaration and schedules for working-level talks for detailed discussion.

　　The DPRK delegation was headed by Ri Son Gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland.

　　The Pyongyang Declaration was signed by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un after their third summit in Pyongyang in September.

　　To implement the declaration, the senior delegates from the two Koreas were forecast to discuss ways to modernize and connect railways and roads across the inter-Korean border and form a joint military committee to stop hostile acts near the border.

　　They were also expected to fix the date for Red Cross talks to discuss the launch of a venue for regular reunion of Korean families, separated by the 1950-1953 Korean War, while discussing cultural and sports exchanges.

　　The Korean Peninsula remains in a technical state of war as the three-year war ended with armistice.