South Korean President Moon Jae-in will travel to Pyongyang Tuesday for his third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in 2018.
Moon's trip will be the first time a South Korean president has visited the North's capital city in more than a decade, and the meeting is expected to be a landmark moment for both Moon's presidency and inter-Korean relations. "Depending on what the government's goal from the summit is, it could make or break his presidency," Lee Eun-young of the Korea Public Opinion Lab told Bloomberg.
These overtures come as U.S.-North Korean diplomacy has reached a lull, but Moon's administration has argued building positive relations will "provide North Korea with all the support and encouragement to make the right choices for itself."
"We will not let this heartfelt opportunity slip through," said South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo on Thursday. "Returning to our 70-year history of conflict and hatred is not an option."