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| North Korean officials pay rare and surprising visit to the SouthNorth Korean officials pay surprise visit to the South | North Korean officials pay rare and surprising visit to the SouthNorth Korean officials pay surprise visit to the South |
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| North Korean officials pay surprise visit to the South | North Korean officials pay surprise visit to the South |
| KYOTO, Japan — A top-level North Korean delegation, including the military officer thought to be second-in-command behind Kim Jong Un, paid a surprise visit to South Korea on Saturday, meeting senior government officials and sparking talk of a thaw on the divided peninsula. | KYOTO, Japan — A top-level North Korean delegation, including the military officer thought to be second-in-command behind Kim Jong Un, paid a surprise visit to South Korea on Saturday, meeting senior government officials and sparking talk of a thaw on the divided peninsula. |
| The trip — the first such high-level visit in more than five years — comes at a time of intense speculation about North Korea’s leadership, given that Kim, the third generation leader of the communist state, has not been seen in public for a month. | The trip — the first such high-level visit in more than five years — comes at a time of intense speculation about North Korea’s leadership, given that Kim, the third generation leader of the communist state, has not been seen in public for a month. |
| It also comes amid a steady stream of disparaging comments from both sides, with Southern president Park Geun-hye recently calling for the international community to help in “tearing down the world’s last remaining wall of division” and the North calling Park an “eternal traitor” in response. | It also comes amid a steady stream of disparaging comments from both sides, with Southern president Park Geun-hye recently calling for the international community to help in “tearing down the world’s last remaining wall of division” and the North calling Park an “eternal traitor” in response. |
| The delegation arrived Saturday morning, ostensibly to attend the closing ceremony of the Asian Games. | The delegation arrived Saturday morning, ostensibly to attend the closing ceremony of the Asian Games. |
| “This group has way too much firepower for the closing ceremony of the Asian Games,” said John Delury, a North Korea watcher at Yonsei University in Seoul. “The games are a subterfuge for some kind of inter-Korean movement. I do think they’re coming with a substantive agenda for Park.” | “This group has way too much firepower for the closing ceremony of the Asian Games,” said John Delury, a North Korea watcher at Yonsei University in Seoul. “The games are a subterfuge for some kind of inter-Korean movement. I do think they’re coming with a substantive agenda for Park.” |
| But it remained to be seen Saturday afternoon whether they would meet the South Korean president. | But it remained to be seen Saturday afternoon whether they would meet the South Korean president. |
| The 11-strong group from North Korea was led by Hwang Pyong So, widely considered Kim’s deputy. He’s the top political official in the Korean People’s Army and vice chairman of the National Defense Commission, which is led by Kim. | The 11-strong group from North Korea was led by Hwang Pyong So, widely considered Kim’s deputy. He’s the top political official in the Korean People’s Army and vice chairman of the National Defense Commission, which is led by Kim. |
| Other members of the delegation included Choe Ryong Hae, who has performed both the roles currently performed by Hwang, and is currently chairman of the State Physical Culture and Sports Commission. This job was previously done by Jang Song Taek, the influential uncle that Kim Jong Un had executed last December, according to NK News, a Web site that monitors the North. | |
| A third top official was Kim Yang Gon, secretary of the central committee of the Korean Workers’ Party and head of the United Front Department, the North’s equivalent of the South’s unification ministry. | A third top official was Kim Yang Gon, secretary of the central committee of the Korean Workers’ Party and head of the United Front Department, the North’s equivalent of the South’s unification ministry. |
| The delegation had lunch with South Korea’s unification minister, Ryoo Kihl-jae, and Kim Kwan-jin, the national security adviser to Park. South Korean media showed photos of Ryoo shaking hands with Hwang, in North Korean military uniform, bedecked with medals, and later sitting down for a meeting together. | The delegation had lunch with South Korea’s unification minister, Ryoo Kihl-jae, and Kim Kwan-jin, the national security adviser to Park. South Korean media showed photos of Ryoo shaking hands with Hwang, in North Korean military uniform, bedecked with medals, and later sitting down for a meeting together. |
| “Our government hopes that the visit…will serve as a positive opportunity for improving inter-Korean relations,” a unification ministry spokesman told reporters Saturday. | “Our government hopes that the visit…will serve as a positive opportunity for improving inter-Korean relations,” a unification ministry spokesman told reporters Saturday. |
| This is the highest level North Korean delegation to visit the South since 2009, when two top officials — including Kim Yang Gon, who visited again Saturday — visited to pay the North’s respects after the death of Kim Dae-jung, the president who championed rapprochement between the two Koreas. | This is the highest level North Korean delegation to visit the South since 2009, when two top officials — including Kim Yang Gon, who visited again Saturday — visited to pay the North’s respects after the death of Kim Dae-jung, the president who championed rapprochement between the two Koreas. |
| The visit comes amid intense speculation about Kim Jong Un, who has mysteriously been missing from the public eye for a month. His unusual absence from a session of the Supreme People’s Assembly in Pyongyang last month was followed by even more unusual reports in the state media that he was in an “indisposed condition.” | The visit comes amid intense speculation about Kim Jong Un, who has mysteriously been missing from the public eye for a month. His unusual absence from a session of the Supreme People’s Assembly in Pyongyang last month was followed by even more unusual reports in the state media that he was in an “indisposed condition.” |
| This triggered rumors covering every possibility from a stroke to a coup d’etat. A South Korean newspaper reported that the ever-increasing leader is merely recovering from surgery on both ankles, although, as with most reports about North Korea, this cannot be verified. | This triggered rumors covering every possibility from a stroke to a coup d’etat. A South Korean newspaper reported that the ever-increasing leader is merely recovering from surgery on both ankles, although, as with most reports about North Korea, this cannot be verified. |
| The high level delegation — combined with the North Korean foreign minister’s visits to the United Nations last month and now Russia, and official talks with the Japanese government this week — added weight to the theory that Kim is simply ill, said Delury. | The high level delegation — combined with the North Korean foreign minister’s visits to the United Nations last month and now Russia, and official talks with the Japanese government this week — added weight to the theory that Kim is simply ill, said Delury. |
| “This kind of travel would be way too out there if anything serious was going on in North Korea, so I don’t think it’s a sign of a coup,” he said. “But to what extent are they doing this because of all the speculation? We can’t rule out that this is part of a campaign to show that everything is normal there.” | “This kind of travel would be way too out there if anything serious was going on in North Korea, so I don’t think it’s a sign of a coup,” he said. “But to what extent are they doing this because of all the speculation? We can’t rule out that this is part of a campaign to show that everything is normal there.” |
| If the Asian Games were just a pretense, it was one that the North Koreans were keeping up. | If the Asian Games were just a pretense, it was one that the North Koreans were keeping up. |
| “As I watched some people (in the stands) shouting unification slogans and waving unification flags on TV, I’m proud that the sports sector is taking the initiative in terms of the national unification,” Choe said Saturday, according to reports from Seoul. | “As I watched some people (in the stands) shouting unification slogans and waving unification flags on TV, I’m proud that the sports sector is taking the initiative in terms of the national unification,” Choe said Saturday, according to reports from Seoul. |
| North Korea competed at the Asian Games, with its men’s soccer team playing South Korea in the final this week. The South won 1-0. | North Korea competed at the Asian Games, with its men’s soccer team playing South Korea in the final this week. The South won 1-0. |
| While both Koreas espouse unification for the peninsula, divided since the end of the Second World War, each has different ideas about what a reunited country should looks like: the industrialized South thinks capitalism and democracy should prevail, while the communist, impoverished North maintains its system is morally superior. | While both Koreas espouse unification for the peninsula, divided since the end of the Second World War, each has different ideas about what a reunited country should looks like: the industrialized South thinks capitalism and democracy should prevail, while the communist, impoverished North maintains its system is morally superior. |