First Day Schedule of the President’s Visit to Pyeongyang and His Sentiments about the Visit
□ Regarding Pyeongyang citizens lining the streets to welcome the President
President Moon Jae-in and First Lady Kim Jung-sook entered the first limousine waiting at Pyeongyang International Airport, while Chairman of the State Affairs Commission Kim Jong Un and his wife got into the second one. The motorcade started out with the two leaders in their respective vehicles.
They stopped their vehicles and got out at Ryeonmot Restaurant, where downtown Pyeongyang begins. Together, they walked over to an open top limousine that was standing by and got in. The motorcade proceeded along Yeomyeong Street on the way to Baekhwawon State Guesthouse.
There were no crowds toward the end of Yeomyeong Street, so the two leaders, who had been standing inside the open top limousine, sat down and chatted inside the vehicle as they neared the entrance of Baekhwawon State Guesthouse.
The open top limousine driver belonged to North Korea’s Supreme Guard Command, and Ju Younghoon, Chief of South Korea’s Presidential Security Service, sat beside him in the front passenger’s seat. A member of the Presidential Security Service said such an arrangement was normally forbidden because of security concerns for Chairman Kim Jong Un, but they made a special exception this time, allowing the South Korean chief of security to ride in the front.
The inter-Korean summit began at 3:45 pm and was attended by Chung Eui-yong, Director of the National Security Office, and Suh Hoon, Director of the National Intelligence Service, from the South Korean side, as well as Kim Yong Chol, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, and Kim Yo Jong, First Vice Department Director of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, from the North Korean side.
□ Regarding President Moon’s impression of his visit to North Korea
Upon his arrival at Pyeongyang International Airport, President Moon spoke about his feelings right before disembarking from the plane.
The President said, “I observed North Korea’s mountains and rivers from the time they first appeared from the airplane windows and also downtown Pyeongyang until we landed. No signs of division were visible at all from that perspective. I felt as though the land of the Korean people was unbroken.”
The President added, “This is my first visit to Pyeongyang, but my fifth when it comes to visiting North Korea. I accompanied my mother when she attended a reunion of separated families on Geumgangsan Mountain, and I visited Gaeseong after that. I had the second Inter-Korean Summit with Chairman Kim at the North’s Tongilgak building in Panmunjeom.” The President smiled and continued, “If you take into account the brief crossing into the North’s territory during the first summit, this is my fifth visit.”
“I have proclaimed so far that I would visit Baekdusan Mountain, and I would via North Korea rather than from China,” said the President. “Some ethnic Koreans in China invited me to visit the Mountain many times, but because of what I said before, I always declined. I regretted that, thinking I should not have said that,” President Moon said with a smile.
President Moon had his first lunch on his visit with Chung Eui-yong, Director of National Security, and Suh Hoon, Chief of National Intelligence Service, at Baekhwawon State Guesthouse where he will be staying for the next two days. And then Cho Myoung-gyon, Minister of Unification, Kang Kyung-wha, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Song Young-moo, Minister of National Defense, joined the President at the table, and they held a pre-meeting to prepare for the first round of summit talks.
(Unofficial translation)
President Moon Jae-in and First Lady Kim Jung-sook entered the first limousine waiting at Pyeongyang International Airport, while Chairman of the State Affairs Commission Kim Jong Un and his wife got into the second one. The motorcade started out with the two leaders in their respective vehicles.
They stopped their vehicles and got out at Ryeonmot Restaurant, where downtown Pyeongyang begins. Together, they walked over to an open top limousine that was standing by and got in. The motorcade proceeded along Yeomyeong Street on the way to Baekhwawon State Guesthouse.
There were no crowds toward the end of Yeomyeong Street, so the two leaders, who had been standing inside the open top limousine, sat down and chatted inside the vehicle as they neared the entrance of Baekhwawon State Guesthouse.
The open top limousine driver belonged to North Korea’s Supreme Guard Command, and Ju Younghoon, Chief of South Korea’s Presidential Security Service, sat beside him in the front passenger’s seat. A member of the Presidential Security Service said such an arrangement was normally forbidden because of security concerns for Chairman Kim Jong Un, but they made a special exception this time, allowing the South Korean chief of security to ride in the front.
The inter-Korean summit began at 3:45 pm and was attended by Chung Eui-yong, Director of the National Security Office, and Suh Hoon, Director of the National Intelligence Service, from the South Korean side, as well as Kim Yong Chol, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, and Kim Yo Jong, First Vice Department Director of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, from the North Korean side.
□ Regarding President Moon’s impression of his visit to North Korea
Upon his arrival at Pyeongyang International Airport, President Moon spoke about his feelings right before disembarking from the plane.
The President said, “I observed North Korea’s mountains and rivers from the time they first appeared from the airplane windows and also downtown Pyeongyang until we landed. No signs of division were visible at all from that perspective. I felt as though the land of the Korean people was unbroken.”
The President added, “This is my first visit to Pyeongyang, but my fifth when it comes to visiting North Korea. I accompanied my mother when she attended a reunion of separated families on Geumgangsan Mountain, and I visited Gaeseong after that. I had the second Inter-Korean Summit with Chairman Kim at the North’s Tongilgak building in Panmunjeom.” The President smiled and continued, “If you take into account the brief crossing into the North’s territory during the first summit, this is my fifth visit.”
“I have proclaimed so far that I would visit Baekdusan Mountain, and I would via North Korea rather than from China,” said the President. “Some ethnic Koreans in China invited me to visit the Mountain many times, but because of what I said before, I always declined. I regretted that, thinking I should not have said that,” President Moon said with a smile.
President Moon had his first lunch on his visit with Chung Eui-yong, Director of National Security, and Suh Hoon, Chief of National Intelligence Service, at Baekhwawon State Guesthouse where he will be staying for the next two days. And then Cho Myoung-gyon, Minister of Unification, Kang Kyung-wha, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Song Young-moo, Minister of National Defense, joined the President at the table, and they held a pre-meeting to prepare for the first round of summit talks.
(Unofficial translation)
