South Koreans arrive in North amid stalled denuclearization talks

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean envoys held talks in North Korea on Wednesday to finalize details on a third North-South summit to be held this month amid stalled talks on denuclearization between the North and the United States. South Korean officials hope the one-day visit will revive momentum after a broad but unspecific agreement on denuclearization between the United States and North Korea at a Singapore summit in June.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s special envoys were led by the national security chief at the presidential Blue House, Chung Eui-yong, and included director of the National Intelligence Service spy agency, Suh Hoon. The envoys were greeted in Pyongyang by Ri Son Gwon, chairman of a North Korean committee in charge of cross-border affairs, who has steered high-level inter-Korean talks, according to Blue House press secretary Yoon Young-chan. They held a 20-minute meeting with Ri and Kim Yong Chol, who played a key role with Pompeo in arranging the Singapore summit, Yoon said without elaborating. Additional talks are expected to take place between the Seoul and Pyongyang officials, but it was not certain that the envoys would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Yoon said.

Kim met the South’s delegation on their previous trip in March.