Moon Jae-in meets head of DPRK delegation for Winter Olympics
SEOUL. - South Korean President Moon Jae-in met yesterday with the head of a high-ranking delegation from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), local TV footage showed.
Moon greeted and shook hands with Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK, at a reception for leader-level guests visiting the country to attend the opening ceremony of the 23rd Winter Olympics.
The reception was held in PyeongChang county, the Winter Olympic venue in eastern South Korea, just two hours before the opening ceremony begins at 8 p.m. local time (1100 GMT).
Kim, the top DPRK legislator, arrived in South Korea earlier in the day via a private jet, leading a ranking delegation that includes Kim Yo Jong, a younger sister of top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un who serves as the first vice director of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea.
Included in the DPRK delegation are Choe Hwi, chairman of the National Sports Guidance Committee, and Ri Son Gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland.
The four DPRK delegates will have a meeting and lunch with President Moon Saturday, according to South Korea’s presidential Blue House.
The 23rd Winter Olympics in South Korea’s eastern county of Pyeongchang had generated great interest as the world awaits to see if the leaders of the two Koreas meet at the opening ceremony of the games on Friday or after.
Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, arrived in PyeongChang earlier in the day with the DPRK delegation.
Pyongyang’s participation in the winter games was agreed on last month at a rare high-level dialogue between the two Koreas in the truce village of Panmunjom. It was the first of its kind in almost two years. - Xinhua