January 11, 2019 11:17
President Moon Jae-in on Thursday said he replied in kind to a friendly New Year's letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Asked during a New Year's press conference if he responded to Kim's letter that was delivered late last year, Moon said, "I responded sincerely by sending my own letter."
Kim's two-page letter apologized for his failure to visit the South and suggested meeting "frequently" in 2019.
"[Kim's] letter was very special and sincere and earnestly sought our understanding for being unable to visit Seoul within the year," Moon said. "It is customary not to announce the delivery of personal letters unless they are brought by special envoy, but I felt that the public needed to know and notified the North that I would reveal some of the contents of the letter."
But he declined to go into detail about his reply, except that he voiced hopes of improving inter-Korean relations and making more progress in denuclearization.
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