South Koreans visiting North Korea for summit anniversary
SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — A South Korean government delegation arrived in North Korea on Thursday for a joint celebration of the anniversary of a 2007 summit and to possibly hold further peace talks.
South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said the visit is an opportunity to strengthen “reconciliation, co-operation and peace” between the rivals.
Cho’s group was greeted at Pyongyang’s airport by Ri Son Gwon, chairman of the North Korean agency that handles inter-Korean affairs, who said the agreements produced by the series of inter-Korean summits — two during the 2000s and three in 2018 — have set the “standard for reunification.”
In addition to government officials, the South Korean delegation includes lawmakers, civic and religious leaders and the son of late South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, who participated in the 2007 summit with North Korea’s then-leader Kim Jong Il, the father of current ruler Kim Jong Un.