N. Korea’s Kim hosts envoys from Seoul for the first time

TOKYO — Reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hosted a South Korean presidential delegation for dinner in Pyongyang on Monday, the latest surprising development in the thaw between the estranged neighbors aided by the Winter Olympics.

This is the first time the 34-year-old North Korean leader is known to have met with any South Korean officials. He has not met any heads of state — including the presidents of historical allies like China and Russia — since he took over the totalitarian state after his father’s death in late 2011.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in sent a 10member delegation to Pyongyang to begin preparations for an inter-Korean summit, the first in 10 years, and to persuade Kim to start talks with the U.S. on denuclearization and stave off a potential conflict with the United States over his nuclear program.

The envoys also planned to discuss with Pyongyang officials the release of three Korean-Americans detained in North Korea.

Kim Jong Un last month invited Moon to visit Pyongyang, with the invitation hand-delivered by his sister, Kim Yo Jong, when she visited South Korea last month for the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

The South’s delegation is led by Chung Eui-yong, Moon’s national security adviser and someone who talks regularly to his American counterpart, H.R. McMaster.

After their two-day trip to North Korea, the South Korean envoys are due to travel to Washington later this week to discuss with the Trump administration the results of their discussions.