Kim Jong-un offers pine mushrooms as gift

Seen is a box of pine mushrooms received from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as a return gift upon South Korean President Moon Jae-in's visit to the North for the third inter-Korean summit, Thursday. The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae revealed Thursday that two tons of pine mushrooms have arrived at Seoul Air Base, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, as a gift from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, which will be distributed to South Korean separated families, who haven't met their relatives in the North, as a Chuseok holiday present. / Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae

By Park Ji-won

Kim Jong-un has sent two tons of pine mushrooms, a North Korean specialty, as a gift to South Korean relatives separated by the Korean War following the summit with President Moon Jae-in in Pyongyang, a presidential secretary told reporters, Thursday.

On the last day of the Pyongyang summit, Yoon Young-chan, senior secretary to the president for public communications said during the afternoon briefing that “while the South Korean President and first lady are staying in North Korea, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's present has already arrived here. Two tons of pine mushrooms arrived at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam by cargo plane at 5:36 a.m. in the early morning, today.”

“All of the mushrooms will be distributed to separated families in South Korea who haven't met their relatives in the North and still embrace sorrow in their hearts.”

Kim's move is likely part of diplomatic courtesy to exchange presents. What kind of present Moon would have sent to the North hasn't been disclosed. Moon and his delegates visited North Korea for the third inter-Korean summit from Tuesday to Thursday, where the two leaders signed the Pyongyang Joint Declaration that reaffirms the abolishment of all threats of war on the Korean Peninsula.

Yoon added that Cheong Wa Dae chose about 4,000 people, putting priority on the elderly, to get 500 grams of mushrooms each before the Chuseok holiday, which starts Sunday.

In 2000, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il sent three tons of wild pine mushrooms to the South as a return gift for the President Kim Dae-jung's visit to North Korea and for the Chuseok holiday. Prior to that, Kim Dae-jung sent gifts such as two Korean traditional Jindo dogs and televisions to the North. In 2007, Kim Jong-il sent four tons, or 500 boxes, of wild pine mushrooms to then President Roh Moo-hyun as a return gift for his visit to North Korea while Roh brought gifts such as traditional folding screens, dishes, green tea and popular films to North Korea when he visited the North.