Yi Whan-woo is a Korea Times journalist primarily covering finance. He writes in-depth articles on macroeconomy and financial markets and previously covered sports, politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs, among others. Feel free to contact him at yistory@koreatimes.co.kr.
'Kim Jong-un fully in charge'
By Yi Whan-woo
By Yi Whan-woo
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is fully in charge, although he has been missing out on important state functions, Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae quoted a top North Korean official as saying Sunday.
“Hwang Pyong-so, director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People’s Army and No. 2 man in the North, conveyed a “warm greeting” from Kim to President Park Geun-hye,” Ryoo said on a television current affairs program.
But the minister said Hwang and his two companions ― Choe Ryong-hae and Kim Yang-gon ― carried no personal message during their surprise 12-hour visit to Incheon on Saturday, ostensibly to participate in the Asian Games closing ceremony.
Quoting Kim Yang-gon, the North’s Workers Party secretary, Ryoo said the North Korean leader “does not have any health problems.” Choe is also a party secretary.
“I sensed Kim was sincere,” Ryoo said.
The Saturday meetings were the highest-level held between the sides under the Park administration.
Seoul officials said the South invited the Pyongyang delegates to meet Park at Cheong Wa Dae, but they declined.
The three had lunch with Ryoo and National Security Office chief Kim Kwan-jin, a top presidential aide, and watched the Asiad closing ceremony with Prime Minister Chung Hong-won, suggesting the resumption of dialogue.
“I’m glad to return home with a productive result from our lightening visit,” Chung quoted Hwang as saying. “I’d say we opened a path for inter-Korean dialogue today and I hope to widen it in the future.”
Government officials said Seoul and Pyongyang were expected to hold a high-level meeting this month or early next month to discuss issues such as reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.
“I believe we definitely paved a way to resolve strained inter-Korean relations yesterday,” Ryoo said. “It is inappropriate to underestimate or exaggerate what happened.”
The Saturday visit came amid speculation about the health of the North Korean leader, who was last seen in public on Sept. 3.
North Korean state television footage of him limping during a July event triggered speculation that he was suffering from physical ailments, possibly including gout, or that he had heart disease. His father, Kim Jong-il, reportedly died of heart problems.
The Saturday talks followed a September shuffle of top North Korean officials in which Hwang replaced Choe as Pyongyang’s military’s top political officer.
High-level visits by North Korean officials have been rare since 2008, when former president Lee Myung-bak implemented a hardline approach that sought to curb Pyongyang's nuclear program. Tensions have remained high since Park took power in February 2013.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the latest talks in a statement on Sunday. He also said it was encouraging that the parties agreed to hold more high-level talks soon.
“He reiterates his hope that the parties concerned will continue to build positive momentum toward a peaceful and denuclearized Korean peninsula,” Ban’s office stated.