Presidential Spokesperson Kim Eui-kyeom Briefs Media on Dinner for Inter-Korean Summit

Inter-Korean Summit Press Corps | 2018-04-27 17:33 (KST)

President Moon Jae-in and First Lady Kim Jung-sook will host a welcoming dinner for Chairman of the State Affairs Commission Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol Ju at the banquet hall on the third floor of Peace House at 6:30 this evening. The delegation officials from both South and North Korea will also attend the event.

The 26 North Korean officials attending the welcoming dinner include Chairman Kim and his wife; Kim Yong Nam, President of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly; Kim Yo Jong, 1st Vice Department Director of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea; Kim Yong Chol, Vice-Chairman of the Party Central Committee; and Hyon Song Wol, head of Samjiyon Orchestra. Among the nine North Korean official delegates who attended the welcoming ceremony in the morning, Ri Myong Su, Chief of the KPA General Staff; Park Yong-sik, Minister of the People’s Armed Forces of the DPRK; and Ri Yong Ho, Foreign Minister, already returned to the North and thus will not be present at the dinner. Besides the official guests, an additional 11 singers, actors and performers came to the South to perform at the dinner.

Most of the officials attending the dinner today are either key aides of Chairman Kim or have visited the South previously and are acquainted with people in the South.

The South Korean attendees total 34, including President Moon Jae-in and his wife. Noteworthy among them are Rep. Choo Mi-ae, chief of the ruling Democratic Party; Rep. Woo Won-shik, floor leader of the Democratic Party; Rep. Park Jie-won of the Party for Democracy and Peace; Do Jongwhan, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Kim Hyun-mi, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport; Park Yongmaan, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI); Lim Dong-won, Honorary Director of the Korea Peace Forum; Jeong Se-hyun, Chief Director of the Hankyoreh Foundation for Reunification and Culture; Lee Jong-seok, senior research fellow at the Sejong Institute; Kim Yeon-chul, President of the Korea Institute for National Unification; Moon Chung-in, a special security advisor to President Moon; and singers Cho Yong-pil and Yoon Do-hyun. They are expected to leave Seoul shortly after 4:00 pm.

Complete lists of attendees from the South and the North will be provided separately.

The leaders of the two Koreas and their respective wives as well as other participants will exchange greetings amongst themselves at the entrance of the banquet hall and then they will proceed inside.

The welcoming banquet will commence with an ensemble performance of South Korea’s representative traditional Korean string instrument, “haegeum,” (A two-string fiddle), and North Korea’s representative traditional string instrument “okryugeum.” The way haegeum and okryugeum sounds are different but, by overcoming the differences, they create beautiful harmony.

The first song is North Korea’s “Bangapseumnida” (meaning, among others, “Pleased to meet you,” “It’s a pleasure,” “I’m happy”) and this song is often used at the beginning of a banquet in the North. The second song is “From Seoul to Pyeongyang,” which is a cheerful song that expresses hopes for unification. The haegeum will be played by Kang Eun il.

Oh Yeon-joon, an elementary school student from Jeju Island who became known for his crystal clear voice when he performed the Olympic anthem at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics’ closing ceremony this year, will sing “Somewhere the Wind is Blowing,” which was sung by the late Kim Kwang Seok. The title of the song signifies a place filled with expectations and hopes as well as a path leading to harmony, peace and prosperity.

President Moon will deliver welcoming remarks and propose a toast, which will be followed by Chairman Kim’s response and proposal of a toast.

Lee Byeongwoo will play his guitar piece “Birds,” the symbolism of which can be understood as the spirit of the Korean people overcoming hardships and flying high all over the world. Presidential Vice Spokesperson Goh Min Jeong will be the master of ceremonies for the banquet performance. Chamber music will be played during the dinner.

When dessert is served, the two leaders will stand up and break together its chocolate dome shell with a mallet.

After the welcoming dinner, the two leaders and their wives will go onto the stage to express their appreciation to the performers. They will move out to the garden of Peace House where a farewell ceremony is scheduled.

(Cheong Wa Dae Briefing)