North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has hosted a welcome dinner for a delegation from South Korea, the Yonhap news agency reported citing the South Korean presidency, in another sign of thawing ties on the peninsula.
The South Korean envoys, led by President Moon Jae-in's top security advisor Chung Eui-yong, have been sent to Pyongyang to lay the groundwork for potential peace talks between the neighbours.
"Chairman Kim Jong-un is currently hosting a dinner for the special envoys," Yonhap quoted a spokesman for the presidential residence in Seoul, Kim Eui-kyeom, as saying.
Monday's meeting marks the first time that Kim has met with officials from the South.
The visit is a response to that of Kim Yo-jong, Kim's sister, to South Korea in February during the Winter Olympics.
Kim Yo-jong, the head of propaganda for the North Korean regime, attended the Pyeongchang Games at Moon's invitation, and conveyed an invitation from her brother to the president to visit Pyongyang.
Moon, however, has reacted cautiously. He has to make sure he's in step with his US ally, which has launched a campaign of "maximum pressure" on the North in an attempt to force it to give up its nuclear weapons.
The 10-person delegation, which also includes South Korean spy chief Suh Hoon, is to remain in Pyongyang until Tuesday.
Before departing for Pyongyang, delegation leader Chung said he would convey the president's determination to denuclearise the Korean Peninsula and achieve a lasting peace.
