Delegation to the North

[Anchor Lead]

President Moon Jae-in on Monday dispatched his first delegation of special envoys to North Korea for a two-day stay. The team is headed by national security advisor Chung Eui-yong. They will reportedly hand over a personal letter from the South Korean president to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

[Pkg]

Cheong Wa Dae has dispatched a delegation of special envoys to North Korea. Headed by national security adviser Chung Eui-yong, the delegation consists of five members including National Intelligence Service chief Seo Hoo, Unification Vice Minister Cheon Hae-sung, senior National Intelligence Service director Kim Sang-kyun, and a Cheong Wa Dae official Yun Kun-youn. They are being escorted by five working-level officials. The delegation traveled to the North via direct flight over the Yellow Sea route on a private jet, and will stay there for two days. The delegation is set to meet with high-ranking North Korean officials to discuss ways to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula and develop inter-Korean ties.

[Soundbite] Yoon Young-chan(Senior Presidential Secretary for Public Relations (Mar. 4)) : "The special envoys will discuss extensively how to create conditions for Pyongyang's talks with Washington and promote exchanges with the North to improve inter-Korean relations."

Cheong Wa Dae said that the delegation's visit to the North is a reciprocal gesture to special envoy Kim Yo-jong's visit to Seoul during the Winter Olympics. Sources say that the delegation will likely deliver President Moon Jae-in's letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un if they get to meet him in person, and discuss extensively the possibility of an inter-Korean summit. Upon their return from the North, national security adviser Chung Eui-yong and NIS chief Seo Hoon will visit the United States to brief Washington officials of the results of the delegation's visit to North Korea.