S. Korea says DPRK delegation shows willingness to talk with U.S.

South Korea's presidential Blue House said Sunday that the high-ranking delegation from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) showed Pyongyang's willingness to talk with the United States.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in held a closed-door meeting for about an hour with the DPRK delegation, who came here earlier in the day to attend the closing ceremony of the 23rd Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, east of the capital Seoul, Presidential Spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said in a written press briefing.

During the meeting, Moon stressed that dialogue between the DPRK and the United States should be rapidly held to fundamentally resolve the Korean Peninsula issues and improve ties between South Korea and the DPRK.

The DPRK delegation told Moon that Pyongyang had enough willingness to hold talks with the United States, saying Pyongyang shared Moon's view that relations between the two Koreas and those between the DPRK and the United States should make progress together.

Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party Central Committee, back right, watches the closing ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, left, Moon's wife Kim Jung-sook, and Ivanka Trump, right, U.S. President Donald Trump's daughter, in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018. [Photo: AP/Michael Probst]

The high-level delegation was led by Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea. He was accompanied by Ri Son Gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, and six other support staff.

Attending the closed-door meeting were Kim and Ri. From the South Korean side, top national security advisor for Moon and the national intelligence agency chief participated in it.

Moon said the DPRK's participation in the South Korea-hosted winter sports event made the PyeongChang Olympics a peace Olympics, stressing the importance for inter-Korean relations to make a broad advance.

The DPRK delegation said top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un had an identical willingness to President Moon's.

Moon and the DPRK delegation exchanged opinions about a broad range of issues on inter-Korean ties during the meeting, Moon's spokesman said.

The South Korean leader highly appreciated the DPRK's dispatch of a high-ranking delegation to both the opening and closing ceremonies.

Kim Yo Jong, younger sister of the DPRK leader, attended the opening ceremony on Feb. 9. During her three-day stay in South Korea, the younger Kim met with Moon, delivering her brother's invitation to Moon to visit Pyongyang at a convenient time.