N. Korea to send nominal head of state to S. Korea

PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA — North Korea will send its nominal head of state and other senior officials to South Korea this week, Seoul officials said Sunday, as the rivals push through with rare rapprochement steps ahead of this month’s Winter Olympics in the South.

Kim Yong Nam, the head of the North’s parliament, will be the highest-level North Korean official to visit South Korea since the North sent then-No. 2 Hwang Pyong So at the close of the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. Kim’s trip touched off immediate media speculation that direct contacts between Pyongyang may be possible during the Olympics, with the U.S. sending Vice-President Mike Pence to the games.

On Sunday night, the North sent a message via a cross-border communication channel saying its high-level delegation will visit South Korea from Feb. 9 to 11, the South’s Unification Ministry said in a statement. It said the North’s delegation includes Kim and three other officials but gave no further details like its itinerary.

Kim chairs the top decisionmaking body of North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament, and his official title as president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly as the North’s nominal or ceremonial leader. Kim, 90, has been frequently seen on state TV making propagandafilled speeches on key state anniversaries or receiving visiting foreign dignitaries on behalf of leader Kim Jong Un and his late dictator father Kim Jong Il. Some experts say Kim Yong Nam’s actual influence in state affairs has been diminished gradually over the years largely due to his age.