NEW YORK, August 25, 2015 – On 24 August the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) reached an agreement after three days of high-level negotiations to defuse tensions after Thursday’s rocket and artillery volley, which followed on August 4 landmine explosions south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The North expressed “regret” over the two South Korean soldiers maimed by the explosions, and South Korea agreed to silence its loudspeakers along the DMZ. The ratcheting of tensions in recent days saw North Korea declare a “semi-state” of war readiness, a condition downgraded by the agreement.

The two sides agreed to continue the high-level dialogue channel and re-engage in Red Cross talks in early September aimed at reuniting divided family members. Korea Society President Thomas Byrne described the agreement as a “positive development nudging forward inter-Korean relations and which may have a tangible benefit in improving the chances for the resumption of family reunions taking place later this year between North and South Korea.”

Byrne joined The Korea Society as its President in August 2015. He came to the Society from Moody's Investor Services, where he was Regional Manager, Spokesperson, and Director of Analysis for the Sovereign Risk Group in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions. The Korea Society is an American non-partisan, not-for-profit organization founded in 1957 and designed to promote greater awareness, understanding, and cooperation between the people of the United States and Korea. The Society arranges programs that facilitate discussion, exchanges and research on topics of vital interest to both countries in the areas of public policy, business, education, intercultural relations and the arts.