North Korea's delegation led by general Kim Yong-chol attended the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Sunday,... and the Blue House said that President Moon and Kim met for talks just hours before the closing ceremony.
Although the talks proved to be somewhat positive as North Korea showed its willingness to talk with the U.S.,... Kim and his delegation's presence was highly controversial.... as Kim Yong-chol is suspected of having orchestrated two deadly attacks on South Korea in the past.
Our Ji Myung-kil starts us off.
North Korea's eight-member high-level delegation entered South Korea on Sunday for a three-day trip... led by General Kim Yong-chol.
They attended the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics.
Kim is a key official in the North's ruling party in charge of handling inter-Korean affairs who's stirred controversy with his links to multiple attacks on South Korea.
During his time as military intelligence chief... he is accused of masterminding two attacks on South Korea,... the first being the sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan in 2010, in which 46 sailors were killed,... and the second, the artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island in 2010, which killed two civilians and two marines.
His inclusion in the delegation has caused outrage in some quarters. However, Seoul's unification ministry said responsibility for the Cheonan incident cannot be definitively laid on Kim... despite the fact that he led the North's spy agency at the time.
Conservative groups including lawmakers from the conservative Liberty Korea Party have held protests on the southern side of the Tongil bridge in Paju... just south of the border and at the inter-Korean checkpoint.
Still, the South Korean government has welcomed his visit amid improving inter-Korean relations and hopes for an Olympics-inspired detente.
Meanwhile, the two Koreas will hold working-level talks on Tuesday to discuss the North's participation in the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games starting March 9th.
The two sides will meet at the northern side of the inter-Korean border at Panmunjeom, with Seoul sending a three-member delegation.
Ji Myung-kil, Arirang News.
