North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had agreed to visit Seoul in late 2018 amid then warming inter-Korean ties, but the planned trip was abruptly canceled a day before its announcement apparently due to security concerns, a South Korean lawmaker said Tuesday.
Rep. Youn Kun-young of the ruling Democratic Party, who at the time served as a key presidential aide in charge of state affairs planning and monitoring, said the two Koreas had agreed on Kim's trip to Seoul following then President Moon Jae-in's visit to Pyongyang earlier that year.
"Kim's visit had been agreed upon during the inter-Korean summit in September 2018 and was in the works behind the scenes," Youn, who published his memoir, said in an MBC radio interview. "There was commotion with the date fixed for Dec. 1."
Youn noted that officials scoured for available hotels in the capital as an entire building had to be reserved for the hundreds of security personnel accompanying Kim.
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