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When will Kim Jong-un visit Seoul? If he knows, he’s not telling
- Speculation is growing over a potential trip by the North Korean leader after officials from both sides met on Friday
- But a visit would prove controversial on both sides of the peninsula
3-MIN READ3-MIN
A guessing game is under way in South Korea over whether North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will this month visit Seoul for the first time, with speculation growing after officials from both sides met at the North Korean border town of Kaesong on Friday.
Lee Eugene, a deputy Unification Ministry spokeswoman, refused to provide confirmation on whether the visit was on the meeting’s agenda when she was asked during a routine press briefing.
This was par for the course, given the Kim regime’s secretive nature and possible security threats from a North Korean leader entering so deep into South Korean territory. If he did so, Kim would be the first leader of the hermit nation to enter Seoul since the Korean war ended in 1953, in a visit that would come months after his April meeting with President Moon Jae-in at the Panmunjom Truce Village along the heavily guarded border.
But speculation continues to grow over the possibility, with a diplomatic source telling Bloomberg that South Korean police had reviewed security for Kim’s visit.
The possibility of Chairman Kim Jong-un visiting within the year remains open
Moon reignited interest in the topic when he told reporters last week “the possibility of Chairman Kim Jong-un visiting within the year remains open”.
This came after Moon and US President Donald Trump held a summit on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Argentina, where Trump reportedly delivered warm words about Kim to the South Korean premier.
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