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Rep. Youn Kun-young of the ruling Democratic Social gathering of Korea attends a plenary session of the Nationwide Meeting in western Seoul, Dec. 24, 2025. Yonhap
North Korean chief Kim Jong-un had agreed to go to Seoul in late 2018 amid then warming inter-Korean ties, however the deliberate journey was abruptly canceled a day earlier than its announcement apparently as a result of safety issues, a South Korean lawmaker stated Tuesday.
Rep. Youn Kun-young of the ruling Democratic Social gathering of Korea, who on the time served as a key presidential aide in command of state affairs planning and monitoring, stated the 2 Koreas had agreed on Kim’s journey to Seoul following then President Moon Jae-in’s go to to Pyongyang earlier that 12 months.
“Kim’s go to had been agreed upon in the course of the inter-Korean summit in September 2018 and was within the works behind the scenes,” Youn, who printed his memoir, stated in an MBC radio interview. “There was commotion with the date fastened for Dec. 1.”
Youn famous that officers scoured for accessible resorts within the capital as a complete constructing needed to be reserved for the tons of of safety personnel accompanying Kim.
He stated that they had deliberate for Kim to board South Korea’s high-speed KTX practice because the North’s chief stated he needed to journey the practice. That they had additionally scheduled a efficiency on the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul and a visit to Samsung Electronics’ services.
The North, nonetheless, known as off the journey only a day earlier than it was to be introduced, Youn stated, pointing to safety issues and Pyongyang’s relations with Washington as attainable causes behind the cancellation.
“The North’s logic was there have been issues for Kim’s security as there was a drone terror assault in opposition to Venezuela’s president on the time,” he stated.
The lawmaker stated Pyongyang could have averted the no-deal summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi the subsequent 12 months if the North’s chief had visited Seoul.
Youn additionally famous that Kim had remarked the North couldn’t hand over nuclear weapons to future generations when he visited Pyongyang in March 2018 as a part of a particular delegation.
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