South Korea’s spy chief in high level delegation to visit Pyongyang on Monday
Group will be the first known South Korean special envoys travelling to Pyongyang in about 10 years
South Korea will dispatch a delegation led by senior security officials for a two-day visit to North Korea starting on Monday, the Blue House announced, as US President Donald Trump hinted that he is ready to talk to Pyongyang.
For its part, North Korea said it was not begging to talk with Washington and denounced upcoming US-South Korean joint military exercises, warning that it would take counter measures against the United States if they went ahead.
The drills will take place next month, a South Korean presidential security adviser said according to the Yonhap news agency. They had been delayed until after the Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games in South Korea.
The Blue House said National Security Office (NSO) head Chung Eui-yong and National Intelligence Service (NIS) chief Suh Hoon, a veteran of past negotiations with the North, would be among the 10-member South Korean delegation visiting Pyongyang.
The visit was part of an effort to lower tensions on the Korean peninsula as well as possibly arrange talks between North Korea and the US, it said.
After the visit to North Korea the envoys will travel to the US to brief officials, and Seoul said it would also coordinate closely with officials in Japan and China.
