Pada Juni 2000, pemimpin Korea Utara Kim Jong Il dan Presiden Korea Selatan Kim Dae Jung melakukan pertemuan puncak pertama antara kedua Korea di Pyongyang, pada pertemuan itu diputuskan bahwa Kim akan melakukan kunjungan balasan ke Selatan 'pada saat yang tepat.'
In June 2000, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and then South Korean President Kim Dae Jung held in Pyongyang the first-ever summit between the two Koreas, at which time it was decided that Kim would make a reciprocal visit to the South at an appropriate time.