Seoul, South Korea (CNN)South Korean President Moon Jae-in welcomed Kim Jong Un’s apparent willingness to enter into dialogue and called for swift measures to help North Korea participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday in Seoul.
The North Korean leader struck an unusually conciliatory note in his annual New Year’s Day address, declaring his hope “for (a) peaceful resolution with our southern border.”
In the televised speech on Monday, Kim called for peace on the Korean Peninsula and said North Korean representatives should start talks with their South Korean counterparts “as soon as possible” about sending a delegation to the 2018 Winter Games next month in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Moon, who has long advocated for closer relations with the North, described Kim’s remarks “as a response to our proposal to turn the Pyeongchang Olympic Games into an epoch-making opportunity to improve inter-Korean relations and establish peace.”
