A high-ranking delegation from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Sunday showed Pyongyang's willingness to hold talks with the United States under the arbitration of South Korean President Moon Jae-in, boosting hope for improved inter-Korean relations and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.
The DPRK delegation, led by Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, crossed the heavily guarded inter-Korean border via land route and moved by bullet train to PyeongChang, where the closing ceremony of the 23rd Winter Olympics was held to wrap up the 17-day winter sports competition.
Kim was accompanied by Ri Son Gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, and six other support staff.
Before attending the closing ceremony, Kim and Ri had a closed-door meeting with President Moon at an unknown place in PyeongChang, east of the capital Seoul, according to the presidential Blue House. From the South Korean side, top national security advisor for Moon and the intelligence agency chief participated in the rare dialogue.
Moon told the DPRK delegation that dialogue between the DPRK and the United States should be rapidly held to improve inter-Korean relations and fundamentally resolve the Korean Peninsula issues.
In response, the DPRK delegates said Pyongyang had enough willingness to talk with Washington, sharing Moon's view that relations between South Korea and the DPRK and those between the DPRK and the United States should make progress together.
During a telephone conversation in January, Moon and U.S. President Donald Trump shared the possibility for inter-Korean talks naturally leading to dialogue between the DPRK and the United States.
Since top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un said in his New Year's address that his country was willing to participate in the Winter Olympics, a senior-level dialogue between the two Koreas was held in over two years in the truce village of Panmunjom. The DPRK sent its athletes, cheerleaders and artists to the South Korea-hosted winter sports event.
Kim Yo Jong, younger sister of the DPRK leader, attended the Olympic opening ceremony on Feb. 9. The younger Kim met with President Moon at the presidential compound in Seoul during her three-day visit, delivering the DPRK leader's invitation to Moon to visit Pyongyang at a convenient time.
Moon told the younger Kim that the two sides should create conditions to realize the potential third inter-Korean summit meeting, asking the DPRK side to more actively engage in a dialogue with the United States. The first inter-Korean summit was held in 2000, followed by the second one in 2007.
Pyongyang positively responded to Moon's earlier call for efforts to talk with Washington as the DPRK delegation to the closing ceremony expressed its willingness for a direct meeting with the U.S. side.
It raised a possibility for the DPRK-U.S. contact to come closer, boosting hope for the improvement of inter-Korean relations and the denuclearized Korean Peninsula.
Moon told the DPRK delegation that athletes from the two sides fielded a joint Olympic team and marched together during the opening ceremony, saying it moved people all around the world and made the PyeongChang Olympics a peace Olympics.
The South Korean president stressed the importance for inter-Korean ties to make a broad advance, and the DPRK delegation said the DPRK leader had an identical will to President Moon's.
Moon and the DPRK delegation exchanged views over a full range of issues on inter-Korean ties during the closed-door meeting, according to the Blue House.
The South Korean leader highly appreciated the DPRK's dispatch of a high-ranking delegation to both the opening and closing ceremonies. The DPRK delegation was scheduled to stay in South Korea for three days through Tuesday.
