Seoul envoys to meet N. Korea's Kim during Pyongyang trip
Source: Associated Press
By HYUNG-JIN KIM
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) Envoys for South Korean President Moon Jae-in planned to meet Monday with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the start of a rare two-day visit to Pyongyang thats expected to focus on how to ease a standoff over North Koreas nuclear ambitions and restart talks between Pyongyang and Washington.
The 10-member South Korean delegation is led by Moons national security director, Chung Eui-yong. The meeting with Kim, which was announced by Moons office, would mark the first time South Korean officials have met with the young North Korean leader in person since he took power after his dictator fathers death in late 2011. Chungs trip is the first known high-level visit by South Korean officials to the North in about a decade.
It wasnt immediately clear what they would discuss or what else is on the itinerary of South Korean envoys trip. But hopes are high that the Koreas can extend the good feelings created by North Koreas participation in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea last month. Kims barrage of weapons tests over the last year has raised fears of war.
If North Korea shows a willingness to disarm during the visit by the South Koreans, there is speculation that it and Washington could set up their own talks on the Norths nuclear weapons. But North Korea has repeatedly said it wont put its nuclear program up for negotiation, while the United States has made clear that it doesnt want empty talks and that all options, including military measures, are on the table. Previous warming ties between the Koreas have come to nothing because of North Korean weapons tests and the Norths claims that annual U.S.-South Korean war games, which will likely happen this spring, are a rehearsal for an invasion.
Read more: https://www.apnews.com/8fe4e840d08841929d250bbab0b134cc/Seoul-envoys-to-meet-N.-Korea's-Kim-during-Pyongyang-trip
Bayard
(22,121 posts)And must be burning Rump's butt.
Diplomacy is always the answer. We have no one capable right now.
olegramps
(8,200 posts)I signals that our allies are abandoning any notion of following this psychotic madman into the abyss. They are not going to jeopardize their very survival for someone who is a totally an irresponsible what-a-be despot. Trump is just as nutty as Kim In Jong.