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| National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong, left, shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at an unidentified location on Monday in this photo released early Tuesday by the Korean Central News Agency. |
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| President Moon Jae-in's special envoys, on the left, talk with North Korean officials about the detailed schedule of their visit to Pyongyang at the Kobangsan Guest House, Monday, upon their arrival in the North Korean capital. They met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un over dinner later in the day. / Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae |
By Kim Rahn
President Moon Jae-in's special envoys had a dinner meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Monday, after arriving in Pyongyang earlier in the day for their two-day mission of persuading North Korea to resume talks with the United States over denuclearization.
This was the first time that the reclusive North Korean head has met South Korean officials since taking office in late 2011.
Details of the meeting have not been disclosed, including the location and the names of other North Korean officials who attended, according to Cheong Wa Dae. National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong, who is leading the delegation, delivered a personally written letter from Moon to Kim, in which Moon expressed hopes for an improvement in inter-Korean relations and peace on the Korean Peninsula.
The five-member delegation landed at Sunan International Airport in Pyongyang via a West Sea route at around 2:50 p.m., an hour after takeoff. Chung was accompanied by National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Suh Hoon, Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung, NIS Deputy Director Kim Sang-gyun and senior Cheong Wa Dae official Yun Kun-young, as well as five working-level officials.
They were greeted by Ri Hyon, an official of the Workers' Party of Korea's United Front Department, in the plane. After getting off the plane, Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, and another senior official of the department, Maeng Kyong-il, welcomed the envoys at the airport.
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| / Courtesy of the Korean Central News Agency |
They moved to their lodging, a resort in Mount Kobang in the North Korean capital, at around 3:40 p.m. and were greeted by Kim Yong-chol, head of the United Front Department who visited the South in February for the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
"There, the officials from the two sides discussed the detailed schedule of the two-day visit, and the envoys were invited to the dinner meeting with Kim Jong-un at 6 p.m.," presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said.
"The resort is a luxury leisure facility along the Taedong River. Considering the lodging, the officials who greeted the delegation and other things, the envoys said the North seems to have prepared a lot to welcome them," the spokesman said.
What the envoys and the North Korean leader talked about has not been made available yet, although the South Koreans were expected to urge the North to engage in dialogue with the U.S. over denuclearization.
Before departing for Pyongyang, Chung said it was a reciprocal visit for high-ranking North Korean delegations' earlier trips to South Korea in February during the Winter Olympics.
"We'll deliver Moon's strong determination to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and realize permanent peace here by maintaining and developing inter-Korean talks and improved relations, which were created by the Olympics," Chung told reporters.
"For this, we'll have in-depth discussions (with North Korean officials) on necessary inter-Korean talks and other various negotiations with the international community including Pyongyang-Washington dialogue."
High-profile North Korean officials who visited the South earlier, including Kim Yong-chol, said Pyongyang was willing to hold talks with Washington. While they did not clearly say the theme of the talks would be "denuclearization," U.S. officials remain firm that the North expressing willingness for this was the precondition for dialogue.
The envoys' mission also includes discussions about ways to improve inter-Korean relations, including a possible summit between Moon and Kim, which the latter proposed earlier via his sister Kim Yo-jong who came to the South to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
The envoys took an Air Force plane from Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, at around 1:50 p.m. for Pyongyang. The detailed schedule of their visit was not made available until their departure, as North Korea usually confirms details at the last minute, according to officials at the presidential office.
The delegation will return to the South this afternoon. Chung and Suh will head for the U.S. within the week and brief Washington officials on the results of their Pyongyang visit. They may meet National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, but are also seeking a meeting with President Donald Trump.
In the meantime, the Rodong Sinmun, North Korea's state newspaper, continued its criticism of the U.S., denouncing a fresh round of sanctions which Washington unilaterally imposed last month against companies and individuals dealing with Pyongyang.
"We regard the U.S. sanctions as a declaration of war, an unacceptable act to violate and annihilate our republic's sovereignty, right to survival and right to development," it said in an editorial.
"If the U.S. and its followers violate our sovereignty through a naval blockade or fund source cutting, a strong, corresponding countermeasure will be carried out," it said.
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