Flushed from the topmost red-carpet welcome from his state hosts as well as civilians upon arriving at Pyongyang by air early Tuesday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in embarked on his first round of talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in a cheerful mood as skeptics back at home and in Washington remain doubtful of a breakthrough on the denuclearization bottleneck, which is essential to any development in the inter-Korean relationship.

“Formal summit talks between President Moon and North Korean leader Kim take place from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Workers’ Party’s headquarters building,” the Blue House said in a briefing at a special press conference room installed at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in central Seoul.

“During the summit talks, first lady Kim Jung-sook, special aides, and business officials will commit to other engagements arranged by North Korea,” the spokesman said.

The two will hold another round of meeting on Wednesday. Further details of their discussions are likely to be released then. Most pundits do not expect any significant development beyond tweaks to the ceremonious declaration made in their first meeting at the truce village of Panmunjom in April. To realize a meaningful upgrade in inter-Korean ties and revived activities, sanctions must be eased. But easing in unilateral and international sanctions hinges on North Korea’s denuclearization terms that can only be ironed out between Pyongyang and Washington.

Denuclearization talks have been stalled after President Donald Trump had his first face-to-face meeting with Kim in Singapore in June.

Moon and first lady Kim arrived at Pyongyang’s Sunan International airport Tuesday morning for a three-day summit and was greeted by North Korea’s Kim and his wife Ri Sol-ju. They were given top honor from the military guard at the airport. The scenes were aired live from Pyongyang for the first time ever. Moon also became the first South Korean leader to share a car with his North Korean counterpart, standing side by side to wave to a roaring crowd in an open car parade.

The Korean markets largely ignored the summit event as no results are expected before Wednesday. On Tuesday, the Kospi closed 0.26 percent higher at 2,308.98. The Korean won gained 0.30 percent against the U.S. dollar at 1,123.20.

After summit talks in the afternoon, President Moon will attend a welcome dinner at Mokrankwan, a 16,500 square meter first-class banquet hall built in 1980 dedicated to state guests. Both banquets for former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and his wife Lee Hui-ho during the first inter-Korean summit in June 2000, and for former President Roh Moo-hyun and his wife Kwon Yang-sook in October 2007 were held at the same place.

The schedule of businessmen visiting Pyongyang along with Moon drew as much interest as the summit as chiefs of top South Korean corporate names all gathered in the North Korean capital, offering a rare sight of the younger-generation captains of household Korean chaebols - Samsung, SK, and LG - in one place. Hyundai Motor Group’s heir missed out because of his prior engagement in Washington.

By Kang Gye-man and Lee Eun-joo

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]