A group of North Korean officials arrived in South Korea on Wednesday to attend an international forum and tour various local facilities.
The five-member delegation is led by Ri Jong-hyok, vice chairman of the Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee. They arrived at Incheon International Airport in the evening.
"I am very pleased to step onto the South's soil at a historic time when North-South relations have entered a turning point," Ri told reporters upon arriving at the airport just west of Seoul.
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(Yonhap) |
On a possible visit to Seoul by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un by the end of this year, he said it's a matter to be decided by the leaders of the two Koreas.
"It's not an issue which I can address," he said.
Kim Song-hye, director of the United Front Department's tactical office, canceled her visit to the South, citing a "personal, unavoidable situation."
The North Koreans will particiate in an international forum on peace and prosperity to be co-hosted by the Gyeonggi provincial government and the Asia-Pacific Exchange Association in Goyang, north of Seoul, on Friday.
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(Yonhap) |
At the international forum, former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, North Korean officials and former South Korean Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun are scheduled to give presentations.
On Thursday, the North Korean officials plan to visit public institutions and facilities in Gyeonggi Province, including the Gyeonggi-do Agricultural Research & Extension Services in Hwaseong, about 60 kilometers south of Seoul, the provincial officials said.
Their trip is drawing attention amid expectations that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will visit the South this year for his fourth summit with President Moon Jae-in.
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(Yonhap) |
It also came after North Korea abruptly canceled planned high-level talks with the United States last week aimed at preparing a second summit between their leaders.
The Seoul government has ruled out the possibility of an official meeting with the visiting North Koreans. A unification ministry official said earlier there could be unofficial working-level contacts with them, however.
Ri is known for his long involvement in inter-Korean affairs.
He met with South Korean Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang in Switzerland last month on the sidelines of an international conference. (Yonhap)