Senior officials from North Korea and South Korea met yesterday at the historic border village of Panmunjom in their highest-level talks in years.

North Korea’s request for the conference was greeted as a “pleasant surprise” by the South and a potential signal that Pyongyang wants better ties and the resumption of co-operative projects.

Later this month, the two Koreas are due to reunite families separated since the 1950-53 Korean war. They would be the first such reunions in more than three years.