SEOUL – Four high-ranking delegates from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in Saturday at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, local TV footage showed.
It was a historic moment as Kim Yo Jong, the younger sister of top DPRK leader Kim Jong-un, was included in the ranking DPRK delegation, which arrived in South Korea Friday to attend the opening ceremony of the 23rd Winter Olympics held in the country’s east county of PyeongChang.
The DPRK delegation was led by Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly who attended the opening ceremony together with the younger Kim who serves as the first vice director of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea.
Two other senior DPRK delegates who met Moon at the Blue House are Choe Hwi, chairman of the National Sports Guidance Committee, and Ri Son Gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland.
It marked the first time in eight and a half years that a ranking DPRK delegation visited South Korea’s presidential complex.
In August 2009, the DPRK sent a high-ranking condolence delegation to bid farewell to late South Korean President Kim Dae-jung who held the first inter-Korean summit with late DPRK leader Kim Jong Il, father of the current leader.
The DPRK’s condolence delegation met with then South Korean President Lee Myung-bak at the Blue House.
The meeting between President Moon and the DPRK delegates was held informally, not made open to the media.
It will be followed by an informal lunch, in which any of the four DPRK delegates can more freely talk with President Moon. Under the formal meeting, the main speaker could have been the head of the DPRK delegation.
Attending the informal meeting from the South Korean side are the spy agency chief, the unification minister, the presidential chief of staff and the top presidential security advisor.
The DPRK delegates are scheduled to return back to their homeland on Sunday.
