With Kim out of sight, North Korean top brass pay snap visit to South
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Head of North's military and two leaders of the ruling Workers' Party attend sports event
They also meet with South Korean officials, who give them a warm welcome
They include the head of the military and a high official with power over civilian affairs
Kim Jong Un has been out of sight for three weeks; officials say he is "suffering from discomfort"
Seoul (CNN) -- With Kim Jong Un out of sight for a month, a covey of North Korea's high officials popped down to South Korea for a last minute jaunt on Saturday, and delivered a diplomatic bonbon.
The three officials told South Korea that Pyongyang is willing to hold a second round of high-level meetings between late October and early November, South Korea's Unification Ministry said in a statement Saturday.
They are the highest officials from Pyongyang to visit the South since South Korean President Park Geun-hye took office early last year, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
The high politicians' sudden appearance caused a media flurry, with South Korean television network YTN following the delegation's moves with extensive live coverage.
Military and civilian chiefs
The head of North Korea's military and two ranking members of the ruling Workers' Party gave Seoul short notice on Friday that they were officially dropping in to attend Saturday's closing ceremonies of the Asian Games in the city of Incheon.
A stern looking North Korean guard by the Chinese border customs office. This image was deleted by North Korean officials.
The South granted permission the same day to Hwang Pyong-so, Vice Marshal of the Korean People's Army, Kim Yang-gon and Choe Ryong-hae.
Kim Yang-gon is one of North Korea's top politicians responsible for dealings with the South.
Choe is the former head of the military but was replaced in May, triggering some speculation in the international press that he may have fallen out of favor with "Dear Leader" Kim Jong Un. But South Korean analysts say that he remains extremely influential.
He holds a seat as Secretary on the Workers' Party's Central Committee, its highest decision making body, and commands preeminent authority over civilian affairs.
Choe is also chair of Pyongyang's Sports Guidance Commission.
Their sports sojourn was followed by a lunch with South Korean officials, and Seoul's reunification minister greeted the North Koreans at their hotel.
The delegation met with the South's national security chief Kim Kwan-jin and later with Prime Minister Chung Hong-won.
In stark contrast to the bellicose gesturing that has haunted relations in the past, North and South Korea took conciliatory steps in each other's direction in February's first round of high-level talks.
North Korea took the initiative of proposing them as a measure to build trust. At the meeting, both sides agreed to tone down the harshness of their rhetoric.
North Korean propaganda is renowned for its caustic tone. In recent days, for example, North Korea's official news agency KCNA blasted South Korean President Park Geun-hye over her criticism of the communist North's human rights record, calling her a "top class confrontational manic and modern day traitor."
Pyongyang has been particularly irked by joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States, and would like them to cease. The North views them as a prelude to an invasion.
Routine military exercises followed later in the same month the first round of talks was held, and were met with less vitriol and military blustering from the North than in the previous year.
During joint U.S. - South Korean military maneuvers in 2013, Kim Jong Un flung aggressive threats at both countries and set his military in motion.
Following February's talks, South Korea's Unification Ministry proposed a second round last August.
The North Korean side had not responded to the proposal until Saturday.
North Korea's dictator Kim has been conspicuously absent even from important state events, and Pyongyang officials have said that he is "suffering from discomfort."
Kim was absent from the Supreme People's Assembly, which is North Korea's Parliament attended by officials of the party, the military and various national organizations. A prominent seat remained empty on stage surrounded by North Korea's top brass.
The 31-year-old leader's absence has fueled speculation that Kim has a health problem, as some observers have pointed to weight gain, as well as a limp when he was seen walking in July.
KCNA, the state-run news agency, routinely catalogs Kim's activities and public appearances. A count of KCNA announcements about Kim's public appearances went from 24 events in July to 16 in August.
It dwindled to just one event in September. His last listed public appearance was a September 4 concert, which he attended with his wife Ri Sol Ju.
By Ben Brumfield and KJ Kwon, CNN
October 4, 2014 -- Updated 1034 GMT (1834 HKT)
北朝鮮側 「南北の高官会談に応じる」 北朝鮮のキム・ジョンウン（金正恩）第１書記の側近らが、インチョンアジア大会の閉会式に合わせて韓国を訪れて韓国政府の当局者と会談し、北朝鮮側は、韓国が以前から提案していた南北の高官会談に応じると表明し、関係改善につながるのか注目されています。
韓国を訪れたのは、北朝鮮の朝鮮人民軍のファン・ビョンソ総政治局長のほか南北関係を担当する高官など合わせて１１人で、４日午前、インチョン（仁川）空港に到着したあと、韓国大統領府のキム・グァンジン（金寛鎮）国家安保室長らと昼食を共にしながら会談しました。
ファン総政治局長は先月、国防委員会の副委員長に就任することが決まるなどキム第１書記の側近の１人として急速に頭角を現しており、北朝鮮軍の総政治局長が韓国を訪れ大統領府の高官と会談したのは、パク・クネ（朴槿恵）政権発足後、今回が初めてです。
韓国統一省によりますと、４日の会談で北朝鮮側は、韓国政府がことし８月以降提案してきた南北の高官会談について、今月末から来月初めにかけて応じると表明したということです。
ファン総政治局長らは、このあとインチョンアジア大会の閉会式に出席し、韓国政府高官らと並んで選手たちに手を振って健闘をたたえ融和ムードを演出していました。
今回のキム第１書記の側近らの韓国訪問をきっかけに、冷え込んでいる南北の関係改善につながるのか注目されています。
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