After 3 days of success in diplomatic appearance at 2018 Winter Olympic in Pyeongchang, Kim Yo Jong returns to North Korea and said Pyongyang expresses to end hostility with South
Monday, February 12, 2018
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| Kim Yo Jong and her elder brother, Leader Kim Jong-un of North Korea |
With a smile, a handshake and a warm message in South
Korea's presidential guest book, Kim Yo Jong has struck a chord with the public
just one day into the PyeongChang Games.
"I hope Pyongyang and Seoul get closer in our people's
hearts and move forward the future of prosperous unification," she said in
her guest book message, referring to the capitals of North and South Korea.
Farewell to South Korea 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, Kim Yo-jong and the rest of the North Korean delegation departed for Pyongyang on her brother's private jet Sunday night (local time), the young sister of Leader Kim Jong-un said that "Pyonggyang expresses to end hostility with South".
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South Korea's President Moon Jae-in greeted Kim Yo Jong (left), younger sister of
North Korea Leader Kim Jong-un, at Blue House in Seoul
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Gangneung: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister headed
home after a whirlwind three days in South Korea, where she sat among world
dignitaries at the Olympics and tossed a diplomatic offer to the South aimed at
ending seven decades of hostility.
Kim Yo-jong and the rest of the North Korean delegation
departed for Pyongyang on her brother's private jet Sunday night, a day after
they delivered his hopes for a summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in
during a lunch at Seoul's presidential palace.
They capped their final day in South Korea by joining Moon
at a Seoul concert given by a visiting North Korean art troupe led by the head
of the immensely popular Moranbong band, whose young female members are
hand-picked by Kim Jong-un. Accepting North Korea's demand to transport more
than 100 members of the art troupe by sea, South Korea treated the
Mangyongbong-92 ferry as an exemption to the maritime sanctions it imposed on
the North, a controversial move amid concerns that the North is trying to use
the Olympics to poke holes in international sanctions.
South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon hosted the North
Koreans for lunch Sunday before Moon's chief of staff, Im Jong-seok, hosted
them for dinner ahead of the concert.
Kim Yo-jong, 30, is an increasingly prominent figure in her
brother's government and the first member of the North's ruling family to visit
the South since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The North Korean delegation
also included the country's 90-year-old head of state, Kim Yong-nam.
In dispatching the highest level of government officials the
North has ever sent to the South, Kim Jong-un revealed a sense of urgency to
break out of deep diplomatic isolation in the face of toughening sanctions over
his nuclear program, analysts say. "Honestly, I didn't know I would come
here so suddenly. I thought things would be strange and very different, but I
found a lot of things being similar," Kim said while proposing a toast at
Sunday's dinner, according to Moon's office. "Here's to hoping that we
could see the pleasant people (of the South) again in Pyeongchang and bring
closer the future where we are one again."
File image of Kim Jong-un and Kim Yo-jong. APFile image of
Kim Jong-un and Kim Yo-jong. AP
South Korea accommodated both the North Korean government
officials and members of the art troupe at the Wakerhill hotel in Seoul. The
riverside facility is named after late US Army commander Walton Walker, who's
considered a war hero in the South for his battles against the North during the
Korean War. It was built in the 1960s under the government of late
anti-communist dictator Park Chung-hee as a luxury facility for US troops
stationed in South Korea.
The North Koreans went through a busy schedule in South
Korea as the world watched their every move. They were whisked back and forth
between Seoul and the Olympic towns of Pyeongchang and Gangneung. They shared
the VIP box with world leaders at the opening ceremony and joined Moon in
cheering for the first-ever inter-Korean Olympic team as it debuted in the
women's ice hockey tournament. Saturday's game ended in a crushing 8-0 loss to
Switzerland.
The most important part of the visit, however, came during
one of the quieter moments. Invited by Moon for lunch at Seoul's presidential
palace, Kim Yo-jong verbally delivered her brother's hope for a summit with
Moon in Pyongyang, a meeting that she said would help significantly improve
ties after an extended period of animosity. "We hope that President (Moon)
could leave a legacy that would last over generations by leading the way in
opening a new era of unification," she said, according to Moon's office.
Though Moon has used the Olympics to resurrect meaningful
communication with North Korea after a diplomatic stalemate over its nuclear
program, he didn't immediately jump on the North Korean offer for a summit. He
said the Koreas should create an environment so that a summit could take place.
He also called for the need of a quick resumption of dialogue between North Korea
and the United States.
After arriving in Seoul on Friday, the North Koreans
attended a chilly opening ceremony at Pyeongchang's Olympic Stadium, taking
their place among world dignitaries, including US vice-president Mike Pence and
Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, who seemed to go out of their way to not
acknowledge the North Koreans despite sitting just few meters away.
Published Date: Feb 12, 2018 07:19 AM | Updated Date: Feb
12, 2018 07:19 AM
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