North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un has invited South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in to Pyongyang.<\/p>\n
It would be the first summit in more than a decade between Korean leaders.<\/p>\n
Mr Moon said the Koreas should “make it happen” and encouraged the north to return to negotiations with the US.<\/p>\n
The handwritten invitation was delivered by Mr Kim’s influential sister, Kim Yo-jong, at a landmark meeting in the presidential palace in Seoul, before the Winter Olympics.<\/p>\n
Ms Kim and the north’s ceremonial head of state Kim Yong-nam made up the most senior delegation from the north to visit the south since the Korean War in the 1950s.<\/p>\n
The figures from the two Koreas shared kimchi (Korean pickled cabbage) and soju rice liquor, and spoke for three hours.<\/p>\n
Ms Kim invited Mr Moon to visit “at the early date possible”, a spokesman for South Korea’s presidential palace said.<\/p>\n
According to\u00a0a tweet by the Washington Post’s Tokyo bureau chief, Ms Kim left a note at the palace expressing hope that “Pyongyang and Seoul will become closer in the heart of Koreans” and for “unification and prosperity in the near future”.<\/p>\n
The meeting comes after the US warned against engagement with Pyongyang.<\/p>\n
The Trump administration is cautious of Seoul falling for North Korea’s charm offensive during the Winter Olympics, which are taking place amid tension over Pyongyang’s nuclear programme.<\/p>\n
Correspondents say the invitation puts Mr Moon in a difficult position as he campaigned on a promise to engage with the North, but his moves in that direction go contrary to the wishes of his ally the US.<\/p>\n
Earlier, US Vice-President Mike Pence briefly encountered Kim Yong-nam at the Games but the two tried to avoid directly facing each other, Yonhap news agency reports.<\/p>\n
At the opening ceremony for the Games, Mr Pence, Kim Yo-jong and Kim Yong-nam were seated in close proximity to each other.<\/p>\n
Mr Pence stayed seated when the athletes of the host nation marched in to the arena alongside those from the north.<\/p>\n
Later on Saturday Mr Moon and Mr Kim will attend the first ice hockey match played by athletes from both North and South Korea on Saturday, according to reports.<\/p>\n
It was not immediately reported whether Ms Kim would attend the evening match against Switzerland.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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