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South Korean Delegation Meets North Korean Leader Kim for Talks

  • Members of South Korean delegation pose before boarding an aircraft as they leave for Pyongyang at a military airport in Seongnam, South Korea March 5, 2018.

    Members of South Korean delegation pose before boarding an aircraft as they leave for Pyongyang at a military airport in Seongnam, South Korea March 5, 2018. | Photo: Reuters

Published 5 March 2018
Opinion

The South Korean officials are the most senior officials from the South to meet Kim Jong Un since he took power in late 2011.

A South Korean delegation met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un Monday after arriving in the North on a visit aimed at advancing the recent diplomatic breakthrough between the two nations while also encouraging North Korea and the United States to talk, a South Korean official said according to Reuters.

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The 10-member South Korean delegation, led by National Security Office head Chung Eui-yong, was greeted by senior North Korean officials after landing in Pyongyang, said Kim Eui-kyeom, a spokesman for South Korea's presidential office.

The South Korean delegation was later invited to join Kim Jong-un at a dinner, the South Korean spokesman added. The South Korean officials are the most senior officials from the South to meet Kim Jong-un since he took power in late 2011 following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il.

"We will deliver President Moon Jae-in's wish to bring about denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and permanent peace by extending the goodwill and better inter-Korean relations created by the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics," Chung said in South Korea before the delegation's departure.

The delegation hopes to speak to North Korean officials on starting dialogue between the North and the United States as well as other countries, the delegation leader said.

The delegation is expected to take part in another meeting set for early Tuesday, said a South Korean official who declined to be identified.

The government hopes the visit will create "a positive atmosphere", Unification Ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun told a regular briefing.

Inter-Korean talks began after Kim Jong-un said in his New Year's address that he wanted to diplomatically engage the South. North Korea later sent athletes to the Olympics, as well as a high-ranking delegation that included Kim's sister, Kim Yo Jong.

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