PYEONGCHANG: South Korean President Moon Jae-in and the North’s ceremonial head of state Kim Yong-nam met and shook hands Friday ahead of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony.
Kim Yong-nam, who is officially leading Pyongyang’s diplomatic delegation to the Games, met Moon at a leaders’ reception ahead of the opening ceremony in Pyeongchang.
Moon and his wife received their guests one by one and the two men smiled as they shook hands in a relaxed manner.
There was no sign of Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of the North’s leader Kim Jong-un, who is part of Pyongyang’s delegation.
Kim Yong Nam is the highest-level Northern official ever to visit the South and was meeting his third South Korean president after participating in North-South summits in Pyongyang in 2000 and 2007.
On his left lapel, Kim wore a badge depicting the North’s founder Kim Il Sung and his son and successor Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong-un’s father.
Moon and his wife Kim Jung-sook both wore lapel badges of Soohorang, the dancing white tiger mascot of the Winter Games.
A seating plan for the dinner shown on South Korean television showed Kim Yong Nam seated at the top table, in between Olympics chief Thomas Bach and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and directly opposite US Vice President Mike Pence.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was also among the group.
Washington and its ally Tokyo are regularly threatened by nuclear-armed Pyongyang.
Pence skips Olympic dinner
US Vice President Mike Pence skipped a dinner ahead of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony Friday where he had been reported due to share a table with South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in and the North’s ceremonial head of state, Seoul said.
Seating plans shown on television had Pence seated directly opposite the North’s Kim Yong-nam at the reception in Pyeongchang.
But a spokesman for the South’s presidential Blue House said he arrived late, “exchanged greetings with those seated at the head table, and left without sitting down”.
Pence had told Seoul in advance that he would be dining with US athletes soon afterward “so his seat was not prepared accordingly”, the spokesman said.
“He was going to leave immediately after taking the group photo session but President Moon urged him to ‘see friends’ so he dropped by the reception venue briefly.”
Pence did not shake hands with Kim, he added, but Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe did, exchanging a few words with him.
Seating plans shown on South Korean television just minutes earlier had Pence sitting to Moon’s left, directly opposite Kim.
The North’s representative, its highest-level official ever to visit the South, was placed between Olympics chief Thomas Bach and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Neither Pence nor Abe took part in a group photo of the leaders at the reception, in which Kim stood behind Moon.