North Korea's point man on the United States and his delegation have arrived in Hanoi for talks on the agenda for the second Kim-Trump summit,... now less than a week away.
His American counterpart is set to arrive in the Vietnamese capital shortly,... with watchers saying working-level talks could start as soon as Thursday.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
Sporting a blue dress shirt and tie,... North Korea's special representative for U.S. affairs of the State Affairs Commission, Kim Hyok-chol arrived in Hanoi at 6:20PM, local time, on Wednesday,... via a plane from Beijing.
With him were two other senior North Korean officials: Kim Song-hye,... the director of the North's United Front Department's tactical office,... and Choe Kang-il,... the acting director-general for the foreign ministry's North American affairs department.
Shortly after their arrival,... they were whisked away by car to an undisclosed location.
Kim Hyok-chol is expected to meet with his American counterpart, Stephen Biegun in the Vietnamese capital,... to discuss what will be covered during the two-day talks between the leaders of North Korea and the U.S. next week.
According to the U.S. State Department,.. Biegun departed from Washington for Hanoi on Tuesday, and is expected to arrive in Vietnam soon.
During the pre-summit negotiations,... the two sides will likely draft the joint statement to be issued after the Hanoi summit,... which will be called the Hanoi Declaration.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.