By Hur SomEe and Yoon Sojung

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said on Feb. 11 that he hopes both South and North Korean leaders can meet in the future.

The prime minister was speaking after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un extended an invitation to President Moon Jae-in the previous day to come to Pyongyang.

In the lunch meeting with the high-level North Korean delegation that day, Prime Minister Lee said, “Both the South and the North will need to work hard in order to create favorable conditions."

Mentioning the joint march of South and North Korean athletes under one flag, the prime minister said, “The PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games made unforgettable history, not only for the Korean people, but also for the world.”

He said, “The South and the North should use this opportunity for talks, which we gained from the Olympics, and we should keep the opportunity after the end of the Olympics,” while asking for support from the international community.

“I sincerely hope we should make use of this opportunity to open a brighter future for the Korean Peninsula,” said the prime minister.

Kim Yong-nam, president of North Korea’s Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, responded that they also hope to maintain the recent Olympic mood so that it could become stronger.

The lunch meeting was attended by 10 North Korean delegation members, including Kim Yo-jong, deputy director for the Workers’ Party’s Department of Propaganda and Agitation of North Korea, and Kim Yong-nam, president of North Korea’s Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly. The 12-strong South Korean team also participated in the meeting, including Minister of Unification Cho Myoung-Gyon and Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Do Jongwhan.

sehp91@korea.kr