South Korean President Moon Jae-in has picked two senior security officials as special envoys to North Korea, Yonhap news agency reported Sunday, as upcoming joint military drills by U.S. and South Korean troops drew condemnation from Pyongyang.
National Intelligence Service (NIS) chief Suh Hoon and National Security Office (NSO) head Chung Eui-yong will lead the visit as part of an effort to lower tensions on the Korean peninsula as well as possibly arrange talks between Pyongyang and Washington, according to a senior presidential aide cited by Yonhap.
That mission could be complicated by the planned drills, as a commentary published by North Korea's official KCNA news agency warned that North Korea would "counter the U.S." if the United States holds joint military exercises with South Korea.