A group of South Korean parliamentary leaders returned home Sunday after visiting the United States ahead of a second summit between the US and North Korea later this month.
National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang and the chiefs of five political parties flew to their country early Sunday after making an eight-day visit to the US for talks with US government officials and congressional leaders.
The trip was mainly aimed at easing concerns about skepticism over North Korea's will to denuclearize and reaffirming the alliance between Seoul and Washington.
In Washington D.C. the Korean delegation met US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan; top US nuclear envoy Stephen Biegun; Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House of Representatives, and other US lawmakers.
The parliamentary leaders also visited New York and Los Angeles to meet with experts and Korean residents in the US
The trip came ahead of a second meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to be held on Feb. 27-28 in Hanoi following their historic meeting in Singapore last June.
The Trump-Kim summit is expected to focus on North Korea's denuclearization and Washington's corresponding measures. (Yonhap)