In this Feb 21, 2018, photo, ROK's national security director Chung Eui-yong speaks at the National Assembly in Seoul, ROK. (HONG HYO-SHICK / NEWSIS VIA AP)
SEOUL - A delegation of the Republic of Korea (ROK) visiting the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) met its leader, Kim Jong -un, on Monday, a ROK presidential spokesman said, making them the first ROK officials to meet the young leader.
A 10-member delegation of the ROK arrived in the DPRK's capital, Pyongyang, earlier on Monday and later held a dinner meeting with Kim, the spokesman told reporters.
A special plane carrying the special envoys of ROK's President Moon Jae-in on Monday left for Pyongyang on a mission to mediate talks between the United States and the DPRK.
The plane carrying the delegation departed from an airport in Seongnam, outside of the capital Seoul, at about 2:00 pm local time (0500 GMT), local TV footage showed.
The delegation, composed of five emissaries and five working-level officials, was led by Chung Eui-yong, top national security adviser for President Moon
The delegation, composed of five emissaries and five working-level officials, was led by Chung Eui-yong, top national security adviser for President Moon and head of the National Security Office of the Blue House. The white passenger jet will fly via a western direct route to the Sunan International Airport in Pyongyang.
READ MORE: Moon to send envoys to DPRK to mediate talks with US
Also included in the delegation were Suh Hoon, director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), the country's spy agency, Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung, Second Deputy NIS Director Kim Sang-gyun, and Yun Kun-young, a senior Blue House official.
Before leaving for Pyongyang, Chung told reporters that he will convey to the DPRK side President Moon's firm will and resolution to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and build a genuine, lasting peace on the peninsula.
The chief delegate said the emissaries will have in-depth discussion on ways to continue a variety of dialogues between the DPRK and the international community, including the United States, as well as inter-Korean talks.
The Blue House indicated that the delegation's key mission was to broker talks between Pyongyang and Washington.
ALSO READ: DPRK urges US to hold dialogue without strings
During their two-day trip, the ROK envoys will hold talks with senior DPRK officials about issues especially on conditions to be created for any US-DPRK dialogue, the Blue House said Sunday.
In this photo provided by South Korea Presidential Blue House via Yonhap News Agency, ROK's national security director, Chung Eui-yong, third from left, meets with DPRK's vice chairman of DPRK's ruling Workers' Party Central Committee, Kim Yong-chol, second from right, in Pyongyang, DPRK, March 5, 2018. (SOUTH KOREA PRESIDENTIAL BLUE HOUSE / YONHAP VIA AP)
After returning to Seoul, the envoys will brief President Moon on their DPRK visit, and then will visit Washington to explain to the US side about the outcome of the talks.
ROK's top diplomat on Monday stressed the need for direct talks between
the DPRK and the United States to
improve inter-Korean relations.
Foreign Minster Kang Kyung-wha told a
forum in Seoul that there seemed a high possibility for the resumed talks
between the ROK and the DPRK to continue.
Kang, however, noted that
unless any progress is made in efforts to peacefully resolve the nuclear issue
on the Korean Peninsula, any progress in the inter-Korean talks and relations
cannot be made.
To improve inter-Korean ties, she said, direct talks
between Pyongyang and Washington should be held. The foreign minister emphasized
the importance for a virtuous cycle of inter-Korean talks leading to the
DPRK-US dialogue.
Her comments coincided with ROK's President
Moon Jae-in's dispatch of special envoys earlier in the day to Pyongyang for
talks with senior DPRK officials about a broad range of issues, including
conditions for the possible DPRK-US dialogue.