north korean officials pay rare and surprising visit to the south
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8/11/2019 North Korean Officials Pay Rare and Surprising Visit to the South
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North Korean ofcials pay rare andsurprising visit to the SouthSouth Korea's national security adviser Kim Kwan-Jin, let, shakes hands with Hwang
yong-So , director o the North Korean military's !eneral olitical "ureau, the topmilitary post in North Korea, during a luncheon meeting# $Korea ool%&%!etty (mages)
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&nna i*eld +ctoer at ./0 &1
KYOTO, Japan — North and South Korea
have agreed to hold another round of high-level talks after a top-level Northern
delegation, including the men thought to be second and third in command behind
Kim Jong n, paid a surprise visit to the South on Saturda!"
The unusual and unannounced trip — the first such high-level visit in more than
8/11/2019 North Korean Officials Pay Rare and Surprising Visit to the South
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five !ears — comes at a time of intense speculation about North Korea#s leadership,
given that Kim, the third-generation leader of the communist state, has not been
seen in public for a month"
$t also comes amid a stead! stream of disparaging comments from both sides, %ithSouth Korean &resident &ark 'eun-h!e recentl! calling for the international
communit! to help in (tearing do%n the %orld#s last remaining %all of division) and
the North calling &ark an (eternal traitor) in response"
*$t+s a big deal, it+s reall! a big deal, because it+s completel! unprecedented,* said
ndrei ankov, a North Korea scholar %ho studied in &!ong!ang and no% teaches
in Seoul"
The ..-strong group from North Korea %as led b! /%ang &!ong So, %idel!
considered Kim#s deput!" /e#s the top political official in the Korean &eople#s rm!
and vice chairman of the National 0efense 1ommission, %hich is led b! Kim"
Other members of the delegation included 1hoe 2!ong /ae, %ho has performed
both the roles currentl! performed b! /%ang, and is currentl! chairman of the
State &h!sical 1ulture and Sports 1ommission" That 3ob %as previousl! held
b! Jang Song Taek , the influential uncle that Kim Jong n had e4ecuted last
0ecember, according to NK Ne%s, a 5eb site that monitors the North"
The third top official %as Kim Yang 'on, secretar! of the central committee of the
Korean 5orkers# &art! and head of the nited 6ront 0epartment, the North#s
e7uivalent of the South#s unification ministr!"
The delegation had lunch %ith South Korea#s unification minister, 2!oo Kihl-3ae,
and Kim K%an-3in, the national securit! adviser to &ark" South Korean media
sho%ed photos of 2!oo shaking hands %ith /%ang, in North Korean militar!
uniform, bedecked %ith medals, and later sitting do%n for a meeting together"
8/11/2019 North Korean Officials Pay Rare and Surprising Visit to the South
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The! also met South Korean &rime 8inister 1hung /ong-%on, %ho later said he
vie%ed the visit as a good omen" *$ hope that it %ill lead to South-North
cooperation and e4changes,* his office said he told the North Koreans, according to
Yonhap Ne%s"
The t%o sides agreed to hold another round of talks, perhaps even before the end of
this month, and in a sign of %hat counts as progress %hen it comes to diplomatic
relations %ith North Korea, the delegation from &!ong!ang even agreed to call the
talks *talks*"
*The delegates agreed to have %orking-level consultations on specific matters
ahead of the high-level meeting,* a spokesman for the South+s unification ministr!
said in a statement after the meetings" *The North e4plained that it intends to
continue inter-Korean dialogue b! naming the upcoming meeting the second round
of talks"*
/o%ever, the North Koreans did not meet &ark, the South Korean president, %ith
the spokesman sa!ing a meeting *%as not reali9ed due to limited time*"
Still, the sudden visit, %hich anal!sts said appeared to take South Korea b!
surprise, sparked talk of a tha% on the divided peninsula" The delegation arrived
Saturda! morning, ostensibl! to attend the closing ceremon! of the sian 'ames,
%hich had been held in $ncheon, the airport cit! about an hour %est of Seoul"
“This group has %a! too much firepo%er for the closing ceremon! of the sian
'ames,) said John 0elur!, a North Korea %atcher at Yonsei niversit! in Seoul"
(The games are a subterfuge for some kind of inter-Korean movement" $ do think
the!#re coming %ith a substantive agenda for &ark")
This is the highest level North Korean delegation to visit the South since :;;<,
%hen t%o top officials — including Kim Yang 'on, %ho visited again Saturda! —
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visited to pa! the North#s respects after the death of Kim 0ae-3ung, the president
%ho championed rapprochement bet%een the t%o Koreas"
ankov said that North Korea appeared to be enlarging its *charm offensive* as it
tries to *get a%a! from e4cessive 1hinese influence*" North Korea+s foreign ministerhas been on traveling the globe, speaking to the nited Nations 'eneral ssembl!
last month and no% visiting 2ussia" Officials have been holding talks %ith the
Japanese government over a decades-old abduction dispute"
=ven as his top aides visited South Korea, Kim Jong n remained m!steriousl!
missing from the public e!e" /e has not been seen since Sept" >, and his unusual
absence from a session of the Supreme &eople#s ssembl! in &!ong!ang last month
%as follo%ed b! even more unusual reports in the state media that he %as in
an (indisposed condition")
This triggered rumors covering ever! possibilit! from a stroke to a coup d#etat"
South Korean ne%spaper reported that the ever-increasing leader is merel!
recovering from surger! on both ankles, although, as %ith most reports about North
Korea, this can not be verified"
The fact that such a high level delegation visited South Korea on Saturda! —
combined %ith the flurr! of other trips — added %eight to the theor! that Kim is
simpl! ill, said 0elur!"
“This kind of travel %ould be %a! too out there if an!thing serious %as going on in
North Korea, so $ don#t think it#s a sign of a coup,) he said" (?ut to %hat e4tent are
the! doing this because of all the speculation@ 5e can#t rule out that this is part of a
campaign to sho% that ever!thing is normal there")
$f the sian 'ames %ere 3ust a pretence, it %as one that the North Koreans %ere
keeping up"
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“ s $ %atched some people Ain the standsB shouting unification slogans and %aving
unification flags on TC, $#m proud that the sports sector is taking the initiative in
terms of the national unification,) 1hoe said Saturda!, according to reports from
Seoul"
North Korea competed at the sian 'ames, %ith its men#s soccer team pla!ing
South Korea in the final this %eek" The South %on .-;"
5hile both Koreas espouse unification for the peninsula, divided since the end of
5orld 5ar $$, each has different ideas about %hat a reunited countr! should looks
likeD The industriali9ed South thinks capitalism and democrac! should prevail,
%hile the communist, impoverished North maintains its s!stem is morall! superior"
&nna i*eld is 2he ost3s ureau chie in 2okyo, ocusing on Japan
and the Koreas# She previously reported or the inancial 2imes rom 4ashington
56, Seoul, Sydney, 7ondon and rom across the 1iddle 8ast#
&osted b! Thavam