A group of South Korean government officials, politicians and civic and religious leaders headed to North Korea on Thursday to participate in an event marking the 11th anniversary of the 2007 inter-Korean summit between President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

A delegation of 160 people led by Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon and ruling Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Hae-chan arrived in Pyongyang at 9:58 a.m. via the western air route for a three-day trip to Pyongyang.

Upon arrival, they were greeted by a group of North Korean officials including Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country and Won Kil-u, North Korea’s vice sports minister

 

“Welcome to Pyongyang. This will be a pleasant trip,” Ri told the delegation, according to pool reports.

“As we cannot imagine a tree without a root, the June 15, Oct. 4, April 27 and September declarations in Pyongyang will serve as a standard for reunification,” Ri added, referring to the summit agreements the leaders of the two Koreas reached in 2000, 2007 and this year.

The delegation’s itinerary on the first day included a visit to the Pyongyang Sci-Tech Complex famous for its atom-shaped building on Ssuk Island. They were expected to attend a banquet after the visit.

The delegation will attend the main ceremony Friday in the first-ever joint event celebrating the 2007 Pyongyang summit. The ceremony will held at the People’s Palace of Culture in central Pyongyang, which often serves as a venue for cultural performances and national and international conferences.

The event was inked into the agreement reached between the leaders of the divided Koreas last month in Pyongyang, in an effort to further foster ties and build trust. They agreed to mark the summit anniversary with “meaningful” events.

“The South and North will make best efforts to achieve peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula by implementing the September Pyongyang summit declaration, based on the spirit of the Oct. 4 declaration,” a Unification Ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

The Oct. 4 Declaration was announced as a result of the 2007 summit, in which the two Koreas agreed to halt hostilities against each other, reduce military tension and expand economic cooperation through active use of the now-shuttered Kaesong industrial park and modernization of cross-border railways. The Roh-Kim meeting was the second inter-Korean summit, following the first in 2000 between President Kim Dae-jung and the North’s Kim Jong-il.

While in Pyongyang, Minister Cho is expected to meet with his North Korean counterpart Ri, to discuss follow-up measures to the agreement reached between their leaders last month.

It remains unknown whether North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will make an appearance at the events.

Besides attending the main ceremony, the delegation will also tour major facilities and watch the North’s mass games gymnastics performance. A Unification Ministry official said it was expected to be similar to that performed during President Moon Jae-in’s visit to Pyongyang in September, which left out propaganda and anti-US messages typically found in such performances.

With layers of international sanctions on Pyongyang still intact, controversy was sparked surrounding the cost of the delegation’s trip, which is expected to total some 280 million won ($250,000). The Seoul government will deliver the money to the North, according to the Ministry of Unification.

The Seoul government explained earlier that it does not view the cost of its delegation’s Pyongyang trip to be in violation of North Korea sanctions, but added that close talks have been underway with the US on the matter.

The 160-member delegation includes former President Roh’s son, Roh Geon-ho.

By Jung Min-kyung & Joint Press Corps (mkjung@heraldcorp.com)