Kim Jong-un Unlikely to Visit Seoul This Year

The government's attempt to invite North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to Seoul this year is rapidly running out of steam.

Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom told reporters Monday, "We are discussing a reciprocal visit within this year by [Kim] while keeping all options open."

Asked whether a formal declaration of an end to the Korean War is likely to come this year, Kim said, "This is not a decision that involves only the South Korean government but requires agreement by all the relevant parties including the U.S., and discussions are ongoing."

Cheong Wa Dae says it has lived up to core agreements made at the inter-Korean summits in April and September like border disarmament and cross-border railway projects and was optimistic that Kim would visit Seoul this year.

But now it seems to have resigned itself to the improbability of such a visit in the remaining five weeks of the year as U.S.-North Korea denuclearization talks have reached a stalemate.

Read this article in Korean