200 S Koreans visit North today, thanks to carrot diplomacy

More than 200 South Koreans will visit North Korea on Friday, the South’s Unification Ministry said, a move which comes despite the Nor...

More than 200 South Koreans will visit North Korea on Friday, the South’s Unification Ministry said, a move which comes despite the North cancelling economic cooperation talks planned for this week in Seoul.

Pyongyang invited 255 farmers from the resort island of Cheju in appreciation for tangerines and carrots they had donated over the past four years, the Ministry said in a Thursday statement.

The South Koreans would visit resort places, such as the Paektu Mountain associated with ancient Korea’s mythology.

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On Monday, the North Korean communist daily Rodong Sinmun described Choi as a ‘‘sycophantic traitor’’. The talks had been scheduled to start on Tuesday and last until Friday, covering economic cooperation subjects including stalled plans to reconnect a severed railway. It was not clear when talks would now take place.

North Korea pulled out of economic talks with the South, blaming the South Korean foreign minister for ‘‘reckless remarks’’ on a recent United States trip. The cancellation came just days after families divided since the 1950-53 Korean War met in a tentative resumption of links.