SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un discussed a possible summit with envoys from the South’s President Moon Jae-in, both sides said Tuesday, in the latest step of an Olympics-driven rapprochement on the divided peninsula. SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea plans to send a special envoy to North Korea in response to an invitation from leader Kim Jong Un, South Korean President Moon Jae-in told his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump in a phone call on Thursday. In sending an envoy to Pyongyang, Moon said he would be seeking to reciprocate for the senior delegations sent to the Olympics by Kim Jong Un, including his sister, Kim Yo Jong, the first visit by a member of the North’s ruling bloodline since the 1950-53 Korean War. Moon has sought to use the Pyeongchang Games to open dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang in the hopes of easing a nuclear standoff that has heightened fears over global security. But Seoul said no agreement had yet been reached on a meeting between Kim and Moon, which would be the first such summit since 2007. Before leaving for Pyongyang, the South’s national security advisor Chung Eui-yong said: “We plan to hold in-depth discussions for ways to continue not only inter-Korean talks but dialogue between North Korea and the international community including the United States.”

It is a challenging task — in defiance of UN sanctions, the isolated and impoverished North last year staged its most powerful nuclear test and test-fired several missiles, some of them capable of reaching the US mainland. The Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang last month gave a boost to recent engagement between the two Koreas after more than a year of sharply rising tensions over the North’s missile programme and its sixth and largest nuclear test in defiance of United Nations sanctions. The intelligence chief is known for his role in secret negotiations with North Korea which helped set up two inter-Korean summits in the 2000s, according to Yonhap. Other members include Suh's deputy at the National Intelligence Service as well as Chun Hae-sung, the vice minister of Seoul's unification ministry, which handles cross-border affairs. While a senior North Korean official said the door for dialogue with Washington is open, during his trip to Seoul last week, state media reports have recently asserted the regime is "not begging for talks," rejecting Washington's precondition of committing to denuclearization.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in announces he is sending two officials to meet with North Korea.