Moon will meet Kim Yo-jong on Saturday

By Kim Rahn

President Moon Jae-in will have talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, and other high-level North Korean delegates Saturday on the sidelines of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

Cheong Wa Dae officials said Thursday that after Kim Yo-jong and the North’s nominal head Kim Yong-nam arrive in the South Friday afternoon via a “private” plane, they will attend in the opening ceremony of the Games. Only Kim Yong-nam will attend the reception hosted by Moon in the evening, as the reception is for heads of states.

Besides encounters at these events, Moon and the two Kims will have a separate meeting and lunch in Seoul Saturday. The exact location has not been decided, according to presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom.

“It is possible that Moon and the North’s delegates will meet at other events, and we are talking with the North Korean side about this,” the spokesman said. Expectations are that they may support the joint women’s ice hockey team, Saturday evening, or even watch a cultural performance by a visiting North Korean troupe, Sunday evening.

Government officials here are regarding Kim Yo-jong as the North Korean leader’s de facto special envoy. “She may bring a personally handwritten letter or verbal message from Kim Jong-un. We’ll see,” a Cheong Wa Dae official said.

If so, the Moon administration may also think about sending a special envoy to Pyongyang in return. Such exchanges could also raise hopes of talks for an inter-Korean summit.

‘Denuclearization is common goal’

In the meantime, Moon had bilateral talks with dignitaries who came here for the Olympics.

He met U.S. Vice President Mike Pence over dinner at Cheong Wa Dae. The two reaffirmed the principle of employing maximum pressure and sanctions to push the North into a dialogue for denuclearization.

“The U.S.’s firm principle and close cooperation with South Korea has contributed to the ongoing inter-Korean talks and North Korea’s participation in the Olympics,” Moon said. “By making the best use of this opportunity, we’ll make efforts to lead the North to negotiations for denuclearization.”

Pence expressed hopes that the ongoing talks would result in peace on the Korean Peninsula. He said it is the allies’ joint goal to make Pyongyang give up its nuclear and ballistic missile programs completely and irreversibly, according to Cheong Wa Dae.

“Pence delivered U.S. President Donald Trump’s message that he provides full support for Moon to hold the Olympics safely and successfully,” presidential chief press secretary Yoon Young-chan said.

The vice president confirmed the U.S.’s commitment to peace in South Korea, Yoon said. “He and Moon stated that cooperation and communication between the allies is closer than ever,” Yoon said.

Moon also held talks with Han Zheng, the No. 7 figure in the Communist Party of China, who came as a special representative of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The two pledged joint efforts for a peaceful resolution of the North Korea issue, with China supporting the ongoing peaceful mood between the Koreas. “Inter-Korean talks should lead to Washington-Pyongyang talks for denuclearization. I hope China will play a more active role for that to happen,” Moon said.

Moon and Han expressed hopes that high-level delegations from North Korea and the U.S. would have a chance to meet during the Olympics as a preparatory step for potential future talks about the nuclear issue ― the period of Pence’s stay here overlaps with that of Kim Yo-jong and Kim Yong-nam.

Moon also had a summit with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who made an official visit here on the former’s invitation.

He said it is meaningful for the head of Germany, which was reunified peacefully, to visit South Korea at this time when expectations are growing over improvement of inter-Korean relations. “Germany’s experience of achieving reconciliation and unification gives inspiration to the two Koreas,” Moon said.

Moon said he believes his peace overture announced in Berlin last July was the start of resuming inter-Korean talks. “At that time I proposed inter-Korean contact for peace of the Korean Peninsula, such as North Korea’s participation in the Olympics, and I think this came to fruition.”

The German leader offered Moon the portrait of former Chancellor Willy Brandt, who set the ground for detente in Germany and Europe with his New Eastern Policy.

Earlier in the day Moon also had bilateral talks with Swiss President Alain Berset.

Along with Berset’s visit, South Korea and Switzerland launched a bioscience initiative committee comprised of health-related state organization officials and private experts of the two nations, which will be a channel for cooperation for health and medical care.

Moon and Berset pledged more cooperation in the field by combining Switzerland’s advanced basic science and South Korea’s cutting-edge technology.

Berset said his country has traditionally made efforts to encourage conflicting states to have dialogue, adding he actively supports the ongoing peaceful mood between the Koreas.

Moon also met Polish President Andrej Duda.

Duda called for more cooperation with South Korea, which is one of Poland’s strategic partners. Moon also hoped more Korean companies would advance into the Polish market in energy and infrastructure, recognizing the two countries’ current cooperation in electric car batteries and the defense industry.

They said the direct flight operation between Seoul and Warsaw, which opened in 2016, and the recently signed working holiday agreement would help boost personnel exchanges.