A North Korean envoy making a rare visit to South Korea yesterday said that his country was willing to open talks with the US, a rare step toward diplomacy between enemies after a year of North Korean missile and nuclear tests and direct threats of war from both Pyongyang and Washington.
Kim Yong-chol, who Seoul believes masterminded two attacks in 2010 that killed 50 South Koreans, was in South Korea for the end of the Olympics. He is currently a vice chairman of the ruling party’s Central Committee tasked with inter-Korea relations.
He said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un wanted to improve ties with Washington and had “ample intentions of holding talks” with its rival, the South’s presidential office said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
He made the remarks during a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in before the Olympics closing ceremony.
Moon said that Washington and Pyongyang should quickly meet to “fundamentally solve” the standoff on the Korean Peninsula.
The arrival of Kim Yong-chol’s delegation was met by protesters calling for his arrest for his alleged role in the 2010 attacks — the sinking of the warship Cheonan that killed 46 South Korean sailors and an artillery strike on a South Korean island that killed four people.
Outside the Olympic Stadium, just before the ceremony, more than 200 protesters waved South Korean and US flags, banged drums and held signs saying “Killer Kim Yong Chol go to hell.” They denounced the South Korean government’s decision to allow the visit.
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