Pyongyang postpones preparatory meeting for Inter-Korean summit

Seoul, April 4 (IANS) North Korea requested a one-day postponement to the working-level meeting with South Korea, initially planned to be held on Wednesday to discuss details of an inter-Korean leader summit in late April, South Korea's Unification Ministry said.

The meeting has been postponed to Thursday by North Korea, which did not specify the reasons behind the delay, a spokesperson for the South Korean Unification Ministry told Efe news.

Delegations from Pyongyang and Seoul were scheduled to hold a working-level meeting on Wednesday at the militarised border to specify details on the protocol and security of the summit.

North Korea also proposed that the two Koreas hold another talk on Saturday to discuss ways to establish a direct hotline between their leaders, Kim Jong-un and President Moon Jae-in, with the aim of facilitating preparations for the summit, according to the Ministry.

Seoul and Pyongyang have not yet publicly detailed the contents of the summit's agenda, which will be the first encounter between the leaders of North Korea and South Korea in 11 years, and also mark the first time ever that a North Korean leader sets foot on South Korean soil, as the summit is planned to be held on the southern side of the border.

South Korea will send a seven-member delegation, led by the presidential secretary on protocol, Cho Han-ki, to the upcoming working-level meeting, while the North has yet to confirm its plan to send a six-member delegation to the talks.