South Korean envoys leave for Pyongyang for summit preparation

Members of the presidential envoy delegation board a plane to North Korea at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, south of Seoul, on Sept. 5, 2018. The five-member delegation, led by Chung Eui-yong, head of the National Security Office, will make a one-day trip to Pyongyang with a personal letter from President Moon Jae-in in an effort to revive the stalled efforts on denuclearizing the North. Photo by Yonhap

SEOUL, Sept. 5 (UPI) — South Korean envoys headed to Pyongyang on Wednesday morning to discuss details for the third summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this month.

The five-member delegation, led by Chung Eui-yong, top security adviser to Moon, will discuss a schedule and agenda for the upcoming third inter-Korean summit. Leaders of the two Koreas met for the first time in a decade in April and had a second meeting in May.

The envoys, carrying Moon’s letter to Kim, also seek to rekindle momentum for stalled talks on denuclearization between North Korea and the U.S.

“Improvement in the North-South relations has to go with the process of denuclearization. It is also a very important driver for achieving denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. We need to proceed the negotiations for denuclearization along with improvement in North-South relations,” Chung told reporters before the departure on Tuesday, the presidential office said.

The same delegation, led by Chung, visited Pyongyang in March and met North Korean leader Kim. Their visit helped the North to begin denuclearization talks with the U.S.

Moon and U.S. President Donald Trump talked on the phone on Tuesday.

Moon said that his envoys will discuss preparations for the summit and further plans to achieve complete denuclearization.

Trump said he hopes to see a successful summit between North and South that could contribute to improving the bilateral relations and also facilitate follow-up measures for the Singapore summit in June and future negotiations.

Moon and Trump agreed to meet on the occasion of the U.N. General Assembly later this month.

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