By Kim Young Shin

President Moon Jae-in will dispatch a five-member delegation, including Chief of the National Security Office Chung Eui-yong and National Intelligence Service (NIS) chief Suh Hoon, to Pyeongyang on Sept. 5 to discuss the specific schedule for the upcoming inter-Korean summit to be held in the North’s capital, and to discuss progress on realizing the Panmunjeom Declaration.

The special envoys are the same officials who were sent to Pyeongyang in March before the April 27 inter-Korean summit. They are: Chung, Suh, Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung, Senior NIS official Kim Sang-gyun, and Presidential Secretary for State Affairs Yun Kun-young.

They will be flying along the Yellow Sea route on the morning of Sept. 5, cross the border, and come back that same day.

“The same officials are being sent again to the North to ensure the achievement of the goal of the visit, and to maintain continuity in terms of inter-Korean cooperation,” said Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Kim Eui-kyeom during a press briefing on Sept. 2. “Unlike the last visit, we have built mutual trust now and we are well aware of what we are discussing, so a one-day trip is enough to accomplish the visit’s purpose.”

“Now is a critical time for settling peace on the Korean Peninsula. That is why I’m sending special envoys to the North,” said the president during a regular meeting with senior presidential secretaries on Sept. 3. “Peace on the Korean Peninsula comes with the complete denuclearization of the region, so the government is closely observing and carefully managing the situation around us.”

ysk1111@korea.kr