양정상 수행에 남북 핵심 외교•안보라인 총출동... 임종석 "북한, 이어질 회담들 모두 고려한듯"
We now have the full list of officials who'll be taking part in the summit between the leaders of South and North Korea.
A seven-member delegation will be accompanying South Korean President Moon,... while a nine-member team will be going with North Korean leader Kim.
Oh Jung-hee outlines who made the cut.
The pieces are now in place.
South and North Korea have finalized the list of officials who'll accompany their respective leaders to the April 27th summit.
According to South Korea's presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday,... North Korea is sending nine officials -- most of whom have been at the center of this year's moves toward inter-Korean peace.
They include North Korea's ceremonial leader Kim Yong-nam and Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong,... both of whom came to South Korea during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in February.
Also on the list is... Kim Yong-chol, who coordinated with the intelligence chiefs of South Korea and the U.S. in their preparatory meetings.
The regime's foreign minister, Ri Yong-ho,... and its unification committee chairman, Ri Son-kwon -- who headed North Korean delegation to high-level talks -- will be coming as well.
Pyongyang's top military officials -- such as army chief Ri Myong-su and defense minister Pak Yong-sik are also to accompany Kim Jong-un.
Seoul released its list of officials last week.
They are... Presidential Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok, National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong, National Intelligence Service Chief Suh Hoon,... and the ministers of unification, national defense, and foreign affairs..
Added to the list on Thursday was the chairman of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, Jung Kyung-doo.
That's a total of seven officials.
The makeup of both delegations lean heavily towards security affairs.
"The North Korean delegation includes some key military and foreign affairs figures,... which, at the beginning, we didn't expect. We see that North Korea is considering not only the inter-Korean summit... but also the U.S.-North Korea summit... and possible cooperation with the international community in the future."
Im sees the inclusion by North Korea of key military officials... as a way to enable deep discussions about measures to achieve denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula... and to lower military tensions.
Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News.
