Kim, Moon begin summit with eyes on closer ties

SEOUL, South Korea – With a fragile peace process hanging in the balance, South Korean President Moon Jae-in landed in Pyongyang on Tuesday for the start of a three-day summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Moon’s arrival comes as he tries both to help resolve a stalemate with the U.S. over North Korea’s nuclear program, and to bring new momentum to his efforts to improve inter-Korean relations and expand economic ties with Pyongyang.

“(My) North Korea trip would have a great meaning if it could lead to the resumption of North Korea-U.S. dialogue,” Moon was quoted as telling his aides before departing from Seoul.

Traveling with Moon’s delegation was a team of top business leaders from South Korea, including the heir to the Samsung empire, Lee Jae-yong, and the vice chairman of the Hyundai Motor Group, whose founder was a refugee from the North.

Moon’s arrival marks the first time a South Korean leader has visited the North Korean capital in 11 years. He was greeted on the tarmac at Pyongyang’s Sunan International Airport by Kim Jong Un, with the two leaders engaging in a warm embrace and chatting for a few minutes.

The arrival, broadcast live on South Korean television, showed the two leaders and their wives reviewing goosestepping ceremonial guards and strolling past cheering crowds holding both North Korean and unification flags.

As their motorcade left the airport, crowds lined the streets of Pyongyang waving plastic flower bouquets and chanting “Unification!”

North Korea’s own media coverage was meager.