A high-profile special delegation carrying message from South Korean President Moon Jae-in with a mission to extend conciliatory mood built during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics left for Pyongyang Monday for a two-day stay.

The delegation led by Chung Eui-yong, chief of the presidential National Security Office, includes chief of National Intelligence Service (NIS) Suh Hoon, Vice Minister of Unification Chun Hae-sung, senior director of NIS Kim Sang-gyun, senior Blue House official Yun Kun-young and five other working-level officials. They are expected to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un later in the day or Tuesday.

Kim would be hosting the first outside government delegates since he succeeded to the dictatorial rule in 2011. He had invited Moon to Pyongyang through his sister Kim Yo-jung who attended the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Olympics.

The visit comes amid renewed saber-rattling between Pyongyang and Washington ahead of the planned South Korea-U.S. joint military drills in April. Seoul maintains that inter-Korean summit talks are not possible unless Pyongyang and Washington break ice and hold dialogue first.

The envoys plan to travel to Washington to brief President Donald Trump on their visit results.

By Kang Gye-man and Choi Mira

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