South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon speaks to the media before departure for the high-level inter-Korean talks in Seoul, South Korea, Jan. 9, 2018. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and South Korea kicked off ministerial-level talks, their first in two years, at the truce village of Panmunjom on Tuesday, sending an encouraging signal of detente of inter-Korean relations. (Xinhua/Lee Sang-ho)