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President Moon Jae-in has told his U.S. counterpart of his government's plan to send an envoy to North Korea.
Seoul's top office says the two leaders also agreed to continue to make efforts for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula by maintaining the momentum of inter-Korean dialogue.
Our chief Blue House correspondent Moon Connyoung reports. South Korea will send a special envoy to North Korea to follow up on a visit by the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to the South last month.
That's what South Korean President Moon Jae-in told his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump during a late night phone conversation Thursday, the first direct contact between the two leaders since the rare high-level visits by North Korea across the border in recent weeks.
The presidential office suggested the decision was part of an effort to continue diplomatic momentum after a series of exchanges between the two Koreas around the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, which wrapped up on Sunday.
Seoul's presidential Blue House made the announcement after Thursday's 30-minute phone call during which Presidents Moon and Trump discussed the latest engagement between the two Koreas after more than a year of sharply rising tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs.
The South Korean president's chief communications secretary said the two allies agreed to "maintain and push forward" the momentum of inter-Korean talks and continue to make efforts towards denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
In sending a special envoy to Pyongyang, the South Korean leader told the U.S. president that he would be seeking to reciprocate for the senior delegations dispatched to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, including his own sister, Kim Yo-jong, the first visit by a member of the North's ruling bloodline since the Korean War in the early 1950s.
Mr. Moon, who advocates dialogue with the North to defuse tensions, urged both Washington and Pyongyang to give ground to allow for talks.
Senior officials from Pyongyang visiting South Korea for the Olympics responded by saying the North was "very willing" to hold talks with the U.S. while the White House ruled out any possibility of talks before North Korea takes steps towards denuclearization.
Although the Blue House added that the leaders of South Korea and the U.S. agreed to continue close consultation on the progress of future dialogue between the two Koreas... it did not identify who the special envoy would be or when the trip would take place.
Moon Connyoung, Arirang News, the Blue House.
