President Moon Jae-in is expected to meet spontaneously with North Korea's ceremonial head of state set to visit South Korea this week to attend the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, but it has yet to be decided whether the two will hold a one-on-one meeting, officials said Monday.
The North notified the South on Sunday night that Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, will visit the South from Friday to Sunday as head of a high-level delegation to the Winter Olympics set to kick off on Friday.
"President Moon will be meeting with Kim, beginning with the Olympic opening ceremony," an official of the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae told Yonhap News Agency, referring to spontaneous encounters they are expected to have during Olympic events that both will be attending.
"But it is something that should be discussed with the North's advance delegation whether Kim will separately pay a visit to President Moon," the official said. Another Cheong Wa Dae official also said it has not been decided yet whether Moon will hold a one-on-one meeting with Kim.
Kim is expected to attend Friday's opening ceremony as well as a preliminary round match of a unified women's ice hockey team of the two Koreas on Saturday. On Sunday, he is expected to attend a performance that the North's art troupe will be holding in Seoul.
"There has been no specific request from the North for a meeting (with Moon) yet," a Cheong Wa Dae official said. But the official said the North's decision to send Kim is believed to have been made out of "goodwill."
"The fact that North Korea's constitutional head of state is coming not only sends a message to the South, but it also includes a message to overseas countries," the official said. (Yonhap)
The North notified the South on Sunday night that Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, will visit the South from Friday to Sunday as head of a high-level delegation to the Winter Olympics set to kick off on Friday.
"President Moon will be meeting with Kim, beginning with the Olympic opening ceremony," an official of the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae told Yonhap News Agency, referring to spontaneous encounters they are expected to have during Olympic events that both will be attending.
"But it is something that should be discussed with the North's advance delegation whether Kim will separately pay a visit to President Moon," the official said. Another Cheong Wa Dae official also said it has not been decided yet whether Moon will hold a one-on-one meeting with Kim.
Kim is expected to attend Friday's opening ceremony as well as a preliminary round match of a unified women's ice hockey team of the two Koreas on Saturday. On Sunday, he is expected to attend a performance that the North's art troupe will be holding in Seoul.
"There has been no specific request from the North for a meeting (with Moon) yet," a Cheong Wa Dae official said. But the official said the North's decision to send Kim is believed to have been made out of "goodwill."
"The fact that North Korea's constitutional head of state is coming not only sends a message to the South, but it also includes a message to overseas countries," the official said. (Yonhap)
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