Updated
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has told a visiting delegation from South Korea that it is his "firm will to vigorously advance" inter-Korean ties and "write a new history of national reunification", the North's official news agency says.
Key points:
- South Korean delegation led by National Security Office head Chung Eui-yong
- Kim Jong-un hosts South Koreans for dinner in Pyongyang
- US expresses "cautious optimism" about North-South talks
"Hearing the intention of President Moon Jae-in for a summit from the special envoy of the south side, [Kim Jong-un] exchanged views and made a satisfactory agreement," said Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) of the meeting that took place on Monday.
The agency did not provide details on what that agreement was, but said Mr Kim had instructed that practical steps be quickly taken.
A 10-member South Korean delegation, led by National Security Office head Chung Eui-yong, went to North Korea with hopes of encouraging North Korea and the United States to talk to one another.
It was the first time senior South Korean delegates had met with Mr Kim since the North Korean leader took office in 2011.
Seoul's delegation met Mr Kim, his sister Kim Yo-yong, Kim Jong-un's wife and other officials on Monday, said Kim Eui-kyeom, a spokesman for the South's presidential office.
Mr Chung said before his departure that his team would deliver the South Korean President's wish to bring about denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and permanent peace.
The delegation will wrap up a two-day trip to Pyongyang later today after another meeting with North Korean officials, the spokesman said.
Both Pyongyang and Washington have expressed a willingness to talk, but the US position has been that they must be aimed at North Korea's denuclearisation, something Pyongyang has rejected.
North Korea, which has been developing nuclear-tipped missiles capable of reaching the US, has vowed never to give up what it calls an essential deterrent against US hostility.
Pyongyang is also concerned about joint US-South Korea military exercises, which it sees as preparations for war.
US-South Korea military drills to resume
South Korean officials have said the drills will restart next month as planned, after being postponed for the Winter Olympics held last month in South Korea.
The Pentagon nevertheless said it was "cautiously optimistic" about the North-South talks, which resumed in January.
"Our job is to make sure that we maintain those military operations to defend the Korean Peninsula and we will [stand] shoulder to shoulder with our South Korean partners," Pentagon spokesman colonel Robert Manning said.
"But we are cautiously optimistic and obviously we encourage the dialogue to take place."
Mr Chung and Mr Suh are due to fly to Washington later in the week to brief US officials on their discussions in the North.
A spokeswoman for the US State Department said there had been no change in the US position.
"We are willing to engage North Korea to emphasise our position that the complete and verifiable denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula is non-negotiable," she said.
Thawing relations between the Koreas have prompted speculation about direct talks between Washington and Pyongyang, despite months of tension and bellicose insults between US President Donald Trump and Mr Kim that fuelled fears of war.
Reuters
Topics: world-politics, unrest-conflict-and-war, foreign-affairs, korea-democratic-peoples-republic-of, korea-republic-of, asia, united-states
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