The Korea Herald

소아쌤

N. Korean envoy on US in Hanoi for pre-summit talks

By Choi He-suk

Published : Feb. 20, 2019 - 21:50

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HANOI/BEIJING (Yonhap) -- North Korea's point man on the United States landed in the Vietnamese capital on Wednesday for talks on the agenda of a summit between the two sides next week.

Kim Hyok-chol, special representative for US affairs of the State Affairs Commission, arrived in Hanoi at around 6:20 p.m. on a plane from Beijing.

North Korean working-level delegates arrive at a Vietnamese government guesthouse in Hanoi on Wednesday. Yonhap North Korean working-level delegates arrive at a Vietnamese government guesthouse in Hanoi on Wednesday. Yonhap

He walked out of the Hanoi international airport along with two other officials: Kim Song-hye, director of the United Front Department's tactical office, and Choe Kang-il, acting director-general for the foreign ministry's North American affairs.

They were soon whisked away in a car.

Kim is expected to meet with his American counterpart, Stephen Biegun, to discuss what will be covered in the two-day talks between President Donald Trump and leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi on Feb. 27 and 28.

Biegun departed from Washington DC for the city, according to the State Department.

In the pre-summit negotiations, they will likely draft a joint statement to be issued after the summit, which media is to call the Hanoi Declaration.