Top North Korean Official Will Visit South Korea During Olympics
- 6 years ago
Top North Korean Official Will Visit South Korea During Olympics
4, 2018
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea plans to send a high-level government delegation to South Korea to attend
the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics this week, South Korean officials said on Sunday.
Kim Yong-nam will be the highest-ranking North Korean official to visit South Korea since Mr. Choe
and two other senior officials attended the closing ceremony of the 2014 Asian Games in the South Korean city of Incheon.
The 22-member delegation will be led by Kim Yong-nam, the president of the Presidium of North Korean Parliament,
the South Korean government announced, citing a notice it received from the North late Sunday.
Some analysts expected Kim Jong-un to allow Choe Ryong-hae, a senior party official widely considered his right-hand man,
to lead the North Korean delegation to Seoul this week despite his being blacklisted by the South Korean government.
Mr. Kim, who is not related to Kim Jong-un, the country’s supreme leader, is often referred to as North Korea’s nominal head of state
because he receives visiting heads of state, approves the credentials of ambassadors and represents North Korea on state visits abroad.
Kim Yong-nam is expected to meet President Moon Jae-in of South Korea, whose government has been hoping for a high-level delegation from Pyongyang.
4, 2018
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea plans to send a high-level government delegation to South Korea to attend
the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics this week, South Korean officials said on Sunday.
Kim Yong-nam will be the highest-ranking North Korean official to visit South Korea since Mr. Choe
and two other senior officials attended the closing ceremony of the 2014 Asian Games in the South Korean city of Incheon.
The 22-member delegation will be led by Kim Yong-nam, the president of the Presidium of North Korean Parliament,
the South Korean government announced, citing a notice it received from the North late Sunday.
Some analysts expected Kim Jong-un to allow Choe Ryong-hae, a senior party official widely considered his right-hand man,
to lead the North Korean delegation to Seoul this week despite his being blacklisted by the South Korean government.
Mr. Kim, who is not related to Kim Jong-un, the country’s supreme leader, is often referred to as North Korea’s nominal head of state
because he receives visiting heads of state, approves the credentials of ambassadors and represents North Korea on state visits abroad.
Kim Yong-nam is expected to meet President Moon Jae-in of South Korea, whose government has been hoping for a high-level delegation from Pyongyang.