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| President Moon Jae-in at the PyeonChang 2018 Winter Olympics' closing ceremony, Sunday. President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach, Ivanka Trump, senior White House adviser, and member of the North Korean delegation, Kim Yong-chol, attend the closing ceremony. / REUTER |
No official meeting arranged between N. Korea, US delegatesBy Kim Bo-eun
North Korea is willing to have a dialogue with the U.S., its delegation told South Korean President Moon Jae-in in a meeting ahead of the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Sunday.
The North Korean delegation led by Kim Yong-chol, head of the Workers' Party of Korea's United Front Department, agreed Washington-Pyongyang relations must develop together with inter-Korean relations.
"Moon said talks between the U.S. and North Korea must take place as soon as possible for improvement of inter-Korean relations and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said.
"Saying the North has enough willingness for Washington-Pyongyang talks, the delegation agreed the inter-Korean relations and U.S.-North Korea relations should develop together."
As Moon stressed the improvement of inter-Korean relations, the delegation said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has the same commitment, according to the spokesman.
Moon had a one-hour meeting with all eight members of the delegation, who arrived in the South earlier in the day. Among the delegates is Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland.
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| Kim Yong-chol, back row right, head of the Workers' Party of Korea's United Front Department, watches the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, Sunday. In the front row, from left are South Korean President Moon Jae-in, first lady Kim Jung-sook and U.S. President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump. / AP-Yonhap |
Although the North expressed willingness for Washington-Pyongyang talks, there were no official meetings between the North Korean delegation and the U.S. one led by U.S. President Donald Trump's daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump.
Kim and the junior Trump did not greet each other at the beginning of the closing ceremony even though both were in the VIP box of the stadium along with other dignitaries including Moon.
The U.S. delegation is heading back on Monday, while the North Korean delegates will stay here until Tuesday. The latter's itinerary has not been disclosed, but Kim is likely to meet with Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon for follow-up discussions on proposed inter-Korean talks.
Earlier, attention had grown over possible talks between the North and the U.S., especially because the North's delegation includes a foreign ministry official, and among the U.S. delegates is Allison Hooker, a National Security Council official specializing in Korean affairs.
In a meeting between Ivanka Trump and Moon on Friday, the former reaffirmed maximum pressure against Pyongyang, and the same message was delivered in a press conference on Saturday by White House Correspondent Sarah Huckabee Sanders and U.S. Senator James Risch, who are part of the U.S. delegation.
The pressure campaign is backed by the largest yet set of sanctions the U.S. is imposing on North Korea _ measures have been taken against more than 50 vessels and maritime transport companies based out of North Korea, as well as China and Singapore, to block them from working for the regime.
Earlier this month when U.S. Vice President Mike Pence visited for the opening ceremony of the Games, a secret meeting with Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong had been arranged, but fell through after the Pyongyang delegation canceled it at the last minute.
The cancellation was seen as stemming from discomfort over Pence's visit to memorials for South Korean sailors killed by the North's maritime attacks and his meeting with North Korean defectors, in which he denounced Pyongyang's human rights violations.
When Kim Yo-jong came to the South for the Games' opening ceremony, she invited Moon to Pyongyang for talks on behalf of her brother.
Meanwhile, Kim Yong-chol's visit met protest by conservatives, who blocked a bridge to the South, because he has been accused of orchestrating the North's torpedo attack on a South Korean navy frigate in 2010 which killed 46 sailors on board. He is currently in charge of inter-Korean affairs for North Korea.
Regarding the controversy, the unification ministry said, "We decided to accept Kim's visit after considering that Kim, currently in charge of inter-Korean affairs, is an appropriate figure to discuss the improvement of inter-Korean relations and denuclearization, and that the North Korean delegation's visit will contribute to development of inter-Korean relations and achievement of peace on the Korean Peninsula."
