SEOUL: A trio of top-level North Korean officials, including the man seen as leader Kim Jong-Un’s number two, flew to South Korea Saturday for an extremely rare visit that will raise hopes of a breakthrough in cross-border ties.
The three senior leaders, making a surprise visit to attend the closing ceremony of the Asian Games in Incheon, arrived shortly after 10:00 am (0100 GMT), with TV footage showing them being escorted into black sedans at Incheon airport.
Officials said they would attend a luncheon with South Korea’s top official for North Korean affairs, Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-Jae, as well President Park Geun-Hye’s top national security adviser.
The two Koreas have remained technically at war since the end of the 1950-53 Korean conflict, and the meeting with Ryoo would mark the highest level contact for years.
Unification Ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-Cheol identified the three leaders as newly-elected vice chairman of the National Defence Commission Hwang Pyong-So, Choe Ryong-Hae and Kim Yang-Gon.
The trip comes at a time when Kim Jong-Un has not been seen in public for a month, fuelling speculation about his health and even triggering unsubstantiated rumours of a coup.
The young leader did not attend a recent meeting of the North’s rubber-stamp parliament at which Hwang Pyong-So — seen as second only to Kim in the leadership hierarchy — cemented his position by being appointed a vice-chairman of the powerful NDC, which Kim leads.
Hwang also holds the key post of head of the North Korean military’s political department.
The Unification Ministry said the three would meet the North Korean team participating in the Asian Games and then attend the closing ceremony in the evening before flying back to Pyongyang.
Ministry spokesman Lim said Seoul hoped the presence of the three senior leaders would “provide momentum for a positive development in inter-Korean ties”.
