SEOUL/PYEONGCHANG, South Korea - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un invited South Korean President Moon Jae-in for talks in Pyongyang, South Korean officials said on Saturday, setting the stage for the first meeting of Korean leaders in more than 10 years. Any meeting would represent a diplomatic coup for Moon, who swept to power last year on a policy of engaging more with the reclusive North.
The recent detente, anchored by South Korea’s hosting of the Winter Olympic Games that began on Friday, came despitean acceleration in the North’s weapons programmes last year and pressure from Seoul’s allies in Washington.
The personal invitation from Kim was delivered by his younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, during talks and a lunch Moon hosted at the presidential Blue House in Seoul.
Kim Jong Un wanted to meet Moon “at an early date” and Moon had said “let’s create conditions to make it happen”, Blue House spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom told a news briefing. A Blue House official said Moon “practically accepted” the invitation. (Reuters)