President Moon Jae-in is warning that a trip to Pyongyang on Wednesday by a high-level South Korean delegation comes at an extremely important time.
This as the South Korean leader, himself, is due to hold a third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the North Korean capital sometime in September.
Shin Se-min starts us off.
President Moon Jae-in explained his reasoning for sending the envoys, once again emphasizing the timing.
"It is an extremely important period in establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula. The government is meticulously reviewing and managing the situation because bringing peace to the Peninsula goes together with its complete denuclearization."
The President's chief of staff, Im Jong-seok, is hopeful that the delegation will come back having fixed a date for the third inter-Korean summit this fall in Pyongyang.
The delegates include Chung Eui-yong, who is the head of the National Security Office, and the intelligence agency chief, Suh Hoon.
The decision to send them for just a day comes as Seoul scrambles to salvage the diplomatic process.
For one thing,… they'll try to put some speed on the preparations for this month's summit, since they don't have a date or details yet.
And two,… Seoul wants to step up its role as mediator between Pyongyang and Washington,… whose relations have soured since President Trump called off a scheduled trip to the regime by his top diplomat.
And the presidential chief of staff, who also led the committee for the first inter-Korean summit says that without the strategic patience and consent of the U.S., it is simply impossible realize historic change.
The envoys' day trip comes at a time when denuclarization seem to be at an all-around impasse.
So many see this week's contact with the North as a chance for a breakthrough -- a chance to get things moving again not only in terms of diplomacy, but on the economic front as well.
Shin Se-min, Arirang News.
