S Korean president meets N Korean delegation

ANI  |  Seoul [South Korea] 

South Korean met a 22-member North Korean delegation, which was led by its ceremonial leader at the South Korean presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae (Blue House) on Saturday.

The delegation also included North Korea's Kim Jong-un's younger sister This was the first visit by a member of the ruling Kim family ever since the Korean War ended in 1953, the news agency reported.

Yong-nam is the of the Presidium of the of North

The rare and historic meeting began after 11 am at Cheong Wa Dae.

The meeting would be followed by a lunch hosted by the South Korean

The meeting also included two other high-level delegates- Choe Hwi, the of the National Sports Guidance Committee, and Ri Son-gwon, the of the in charge of inter-Korean affairs.

The North Korean delegation's visit to South was the first trip since August 2009, when a high-level North Korean delegation attended the funeral of former South Korean Kim Dae-jung, who held the first-ever inter-Korean summit with then North Korean leader late in 2000.

The 2018 in Pyeongchang kicked off on Friday with the two Koreans marching under a unified flag in an opening ceremony themed around peace and future.

After months of tensions, the athletes from the two countries marched under the same flag in the parade ceremony. A joint team, comprising of both North and South Korean players will take part in

North has sent a delegation of 22 athletes to compete in five disciplines, with their women's players to compete in a unified Korean team.

Though South is hosting for the first time, the nation has some experience in the of international athletics, having hosted in

The two sides had met at the border village of Panmunjom, located along the heavily guarded Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) for high-level, working-level and military talks respectively.

Also, North sent its own squad and an art troupe who are scheduled to perform in the Pyeongchang

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Sat, February 10 2018. 10:45 IST