India welcomes talks between Pyongyang and Seoul, hopes engagement reduces tensions and paves way for peace

New Delhi: Welcoming talks between North Korea and South Korea, India on Thursday said any solution to the Korean Peninsula must address concerns about Pyongyang’s proliferation linkages. India also hoped that the engagement between the two countries would help reduce tensions and pave the way for peace in the peninsula. [caption id=“attachment_4294085” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] South Korean unification minister Cho Myoung-gyon (left) with the head of North Korean delegation Ri Son Gwon at Panmunjom on Tuesday. AP[/caption] “We hope that the engagement between the two sides will help in reducing tensions and pave the way for bringing lasting peace and reconciliation in the Korean Peninsula,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar told reporters. The countries had two days ago held high-level talks at Panmunjom, a village located in the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, amid escalating tension in the region following a series of ballistic missile tests by North Korea. The missiles have the capability to strike the US mainland, according to Pyongyang. The talks were the first high-level engagement between the two countries after December 2015. “India supports efforts to bring about peace, stability, reconciliation, de-nuclearisation and reunification of the Korean peninsula through dialogue and diplomacy,” Kumar said. At the same time, he said any solution to the regional problem must also take into account and address concerns about the proliferation linkages of North Korea’s nuclear and missile programme. There were reports that North Korea had proliferation linkages with Pakistan