SKorean delegation heads to Pyongyang to push talks

SEOUL — A South Korean delegation heading to Pyongyang yesterday will push for talks between the nuclear-armed North and the United States, the group's leader said.

An intense rapprochement saw athletes from both sides of the divided peninsula march together at the South's Pyeongchang Winter Olympics last month, with the North's leader Kim Jong Un sending his sister as a special envoy to the event.

Kim Yo Jong's trip was the first visit to the South by a member of the North's ruling dynasty since the end of the Korean war, and her appearance at the Games' opening ceremony made global headlines.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has sought to use the Pyeongchang Games to open dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang in the hopes of easing a nuclear standoff that has heightened fears over global security.

Kim Yo Jong invited him to a summit in the North on her brother's behalf, but Moon did not immediately accept, saying that the right conditions were necessary first.

"We plant ohol din-depth discussions for ways to continue not only inter-Korean talks but dialogue between North Korea and the international community including the United States," said national security advisor Chung Eui-yong, who is leading the delegation.

"We will deliver President Moon's firm resolution to denuclearize the Korean peninsula and to create sincere and lasting peace."

Chung is one of five senior officials flying to Pyongyang yesterday.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency also announced their impending visit in a one-paragraph dispatch.