A high-level North Korean delegation, including Hwang Pyong-so, director
of the North Korean military’s General Political Bureau, Choe
Ryong-hae, secretary of the ruling Workers’ Party, and Kim Yang-gon,
director of the party’s North Korean United Front Department, arrived in
Incheon to attend the closing ceremony of the 17th Asian Games held on
October 4. The officials departed Pyongyang at 9:00 a.m. that day and
arrived at Incheon International Airport at 10:10 a.m. via a direct
flight over the Yellow Sea.
High-level delegates from North
Korea attend the closing ceremony for the 17th Asian Games in Incheon on
October 4 alongside South Korean officials, including Prime Minister
Chung Hong-won, and members of the Asian Games organizing committee.
The
North notified the South Korean government of their planned visit on
the morning of October 3. Seoul agreed to the trip later that afternoon.
After arriving in Incheon, the delegation gave words of encouragement
to the North Korean athletes competing in the games. The group then had
lunch with their South Korean counterparts, including Kim Kwan-jin,
chief of national security at Cheong Wa Dae, Ryoo Kihl-jae, the
unification minister, and Han Ki-bum, the first deputy director at the
National Intelligence Service. Finally, the group of North Korean
officials attended the Asian Games closing ceremony at 7:00 p.m. that
evening.
Hwang expressed his willingness to attend a second
series of high-level inter-Korea talks. He also delivered North Korean
leader and First Secretary of the North’s Workers’ Party Kim Jong-un's
"warm greetings" to South Korean President Park Geun-hye, sending the
message via Cheong Wa Dae's Kim. This is the first time for North Korean
leader Kim Jong-un to send a personal message to President Park.
In
a meeting with South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won, Hwang said,
"There have been many fruitful results, though we are going to leave in
the evening after arriving in the morning. We paved a narrow path this
time, but we can communicate with each other better and can pave a wider
road."
South Korean Prime Minister Chung
Hong-won (middle) and Director Hwang Pyong-so (left) of the North Korean
military’s General Political Bureau enter the Incheon Asiad Main
Stadium to attend the Asian Games closing ceremony on October 4.
Regarding
the North Korean delegation's visit, Lim Byeong-cheol, the Unification
Ministry’s spokesman, said, "President Park Geun-hye was willing to meet
with the delegation, but they came here to attend the Asian Games
closing ceremony and were unable to visit Cheong Wa Dae due to time
constraints."
After attending the closing ceremony, the
delegation departed Incheon International Airport at 10:25 p.m. and flew
back to Pyongyang.