Moon, Kim may meet in Indonesia during Asian Games

By Kim Rahn

The leaders of two Koreas may have their third meeting in Indonesia as they have been invited to the country for the Asian Games slated for August.

Seoul officials are discussing the possibility, while Pyongyang's response is unknown, according to Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday.

Presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said the Indonesian government expressed its intention to invite both President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to the country on the occasion of the Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games that will be held from Aug. 18 to Sept. 2.

If Moon and Kim accept the invitations, it will be the first time for leaders of the two Koreas to meet outside the Korean Peninsula. Former presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun met former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang in 2000 and 2007, respectively; and Moon met Kim Jong-un twice at the truce village of Panmunjeom, first on the southern side, April 27, and then on the northern side, May 26.

"It was the Indonesian government's intention (to invite), but it has not given an official invitation," the spokesman said. "If we receive an official invitation, we'll consider whether to accept it after reviewing the President's diplomatic schedule."

Another Cheong Wa Dae official said the foreign affairs ministry would announce a decision soon. "Whether Kim will accept the offer is not something the South Korean government can talk about," the official said on condition of anonymity.

Earlier a local newspaper reported the Indonesian government had invited the leaders of the two Koreas to the Games.

Citing sources from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, it reported that Indonesian President Joko Widodo invited South and North Korean ambassadors to Jakarta to the presidential palace three days after April's inter-Korean summit, and asked for the two leaders' visits to the country on the occasion of the Games.

It is unknown whether Kim will accept the invitation. Both Moon and Kim were also invited to the Eastern Economic Forum to be held in Russia in September, but their participation remains undecided. How North Korea's denuclearization negotiations with the U.S. progress can also affect whether there is a meeting.

In the Panmunjeom Declaration reached April 27, Moon and Kim pledged another summit in Pyongyang in autumn. But they had a surprise, informal meeting May 26, and Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha recently said it was possible for the two leaders to meet again even before the planned Pyongyang summit.

If the leaders decide to visit Indonesia and meet there, they may attend the opening or closing ceremony of the Games, where the athletes of the two Koreas will march together.

Last week, the two Koreas agreed to make a joint entrance at the opening and closing ceremonies under a flag symbolizing a unified Korea. The Korean folk song Arirang will be played when they march instead of the national anthems of the North and the South. The Koreas also decided to field joint teams for several events.

Besides the Asian Games, they also plan to hold an inter-Korean basketball competition in Pyongyang in early July and another in Seoul in autumn.