TEMPO.CO, Seoul - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un invited South Korean President Moon Jae-in for talks in Pyongyang, South Korean officials said on Saturday, Feb. 10, setting the stage for the first meeting of Korean leaders in more than 10 years.
Any meeting would represent a diplomatic coup for Moon, who swept to power last year on a policy of engaging more with the reclusive North.
The recent detente, anchored by South Korea's hosting of the Winter Olympic Games that began on Friday, came despite an acceleration in the North's weapons programmes last year and pressure from Seoul's allies in Washington.
Read: Sister of North Korean Leader to Come to South for Olympics
The personal invitation from Kim was delivered by his younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, during talks and a lunch Moon hosted at the presidential Blue House in Seoul.
Kim Jong Un wanted to meet Moon "at an early date" and Moon had said "let's create conditions to make it happen", Blue House spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom told a news briefing.
A Blue House official said Moon "practically accepted" the invitation.
"We would like to see you at an early date in Pyongyang", Kim Yo Jong told Moon during the lunch, according to another Blue House official.
The prospect of two-way talks between the Koreas, however, may not be welcomed by the United States.
Read: North and South Korea Set to Talk on January 9
Washington has pursued a strategy of exerting maximum pressure on Pyongyang through tough sanctions and harsh rhetoric, demanding it gives up its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
"This is the strongest action yet by North Korea to drive a wedge between the South and the United States," said Kim Sung-han, a former South Korean vice foreign minister and now a professor at Korea University in Seoul.
Moon asked the North Korean delegation during Saturday's meeting to engage in dialogue with Washington "at an early date", the Blue House said.
A visit by Moon to the North would enable the first summit between leaders from the two Koreas since 2007.
REUTERS
