Top North Korea leaders hold talks in South on rare visit

Yahoo – AFP, Park Chan-Kyong, Oct 4, 2014

Hwang Pyong-So (2nd L), director of the military's General Political Bureau, the top

 military post in North Korea, walks with other N.Korean officials, following a meeting in

Incheon, South Korea, on October 4, 2014 (AFP Photo/Bay Ismoyo)

Three top North Korean officials, including the nuclear-armed nation's de facto number two, made an extremely rare visit to South Korea on Saturday and held the highest-level talks for years, fuelling hopes of a breakthrough in troubled cross-border ties.

The ostensible motive for the surprise trip was Saturday's closing ceremony of the Asian Games, but after being whisked away in a convoy of black sedans from Incheon airport, the trio went directly into a meeting with the South's top official for North Korean affairs, Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-Jae.

The talks lasted more than an hour and were followed by a lunch at which President Park Geun-Hye's national security adviser Kim Kwan-Jin was also present.

Visiting North Korean officials (from L) Kim

 Yang-Gon, Hwang Pyong-So and Choe 

Ryong-Hae, attend at meeting with South

Korean Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-Jae, at

a hotel in Incheon, west of Seoul, on

October 4, 2014 (AFP Photo)

The two Koreas have remained technically at war since the end of the 1950-53 Korean conflict, and the sudden visit followed a period of extended military and diplomatic tensions.

Seoul said it had only been informed of the proposed trip the day before.

The delegation included the newly-elected vice chairman of the National Defence Commission Hwang Pyong-So, who is widely seen as the second most powerful man in North Korea after paramount leader Kim Jong-Un.

Kim has not been seen in public for a month, fuelling speculation about his health and even triggering unsubstantiated rumours of a coup.

TV footage of the meeting showed Hwang, who holds the rank of vice marshal in the Korean People's Army, dressed in military uniform, while the other two officials, Choe Ryong-Hae and Kim Yang-Gon, both wore dark suits.

'Sports leading the way'

Before journalists were removed, Choe thanked the South for the hospitality it had shown the North Korean athletes attending the Asiad in Incheon.

"I am proud that in the effort for reunification, the sports field is leading the way," said Choe, who heads the national Sports Commission.

North Korea has exceeded all expectations at the Games and, with just a handful of events remaining, lies seventh in the medals table with 11 golds.

The Unification Ministry said Seoul hoped the presence of the three senior leaders would "provide momentum for a positive development in inter-Korean ties".

North Korean athletes are seen during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Asian

 Games, at the Incheon Asiad Main Stadium, South Korea, on September 19, 2014

(AFP Photo/Jung Yeon-Je)

Recent South Korean requests for a resumption of high-level talks had been rebuffed by Pyongyang, still smarting over a series of what it sees as provocative joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States.

The North recently upped the ante, conducting an extended series of rocket and missile firings into the Sea of Japan.

'Unprecedented'

Professor Yang Moo-Jin of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul noted that both Hwang and Choe were close aides of Kim Jong-Un.

"It is something quite unprecedented for North Korea to send two of the leaders' closest confidantes to the South," Yang said, speculating that they might be carrying a letter from Kim.

"I think this is really about the North wanting to show to the world that it is leading efforts to improve ties," he added.

North Korea wants a resumption of six-party talks on its nuclear programme, but the United States and South Korea insist it must first make a tangible commitment to abandoning nuclear weapons.

Visiting North Korean officials, Kim Yang-Gon

 (3rd R), Hwang Pyong-So (2nd R) and Choe

 Ryong-Hae (R) attend at a meeting with South

 Korean Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-Jae (L),

 at a hotel in Incheon, west of Seoul, on

October 4, 2014 (AFP Photo)

Speculation surrounding Kim Jong-Un's health multiplied after he failed to attend a recent meeting of the North's rubber-stamp parliament, at which Hwang Pyong-So cemented his position by being appointed a vice-chairman of the powerful NDC, which Kim leads.

Hwang also holds the key post of head of the North Korean military's political department.

Kim Yang-Gon heads the ruling party's United Front Department in charge of South Korea-related affairs.

The Unification Ministry said the three would meet the North Korean athletes at the Asian Games and then attend the closing ceremony in the evening before flying back to Pyongyang.

Choe Ryong-Hae's inclusion in the leadership trio was most likely down to his position on the North's Sports Commission.

Choe had initially been flagged as Kim's number two following the execution last December of Kim's uncle and political mentor, Jang Song-Thaek.

But his star appears to have dimmed of late, while Hwang has moved swiftly up the power structure, replacing Choe as military political chief and NDC vice chairman.

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