North Korea officials cancel visit to South

Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Two North Korean officials who were expected to attend an international forum in the South canceled their plans unexpectedly on Wednesday, amid an ongoing controversy over undisclosed North Korea missile bases.

Kim Song Hye of Pyongyang's Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee and Kim Chun Sun, a North Korean researcher, were scheduled to arrive in the South on Wednesday, ahead of the forum that begins on Friday, Yonhap reported.

Lee Hwa-young, the South Korean deputy governor for peace of Gyeonggi Province, said Kim Song Hye will be absent owing to "unforeseen circumstances."

Lee had been waiting for the North Korean delegation at Incheon International Airport when he heard the news of the cancellation.

Other North Korean officials are in attendance.

Ri Jong Hyok, vice chairman of the North Korean peace committee, and others, arrived in the South in the evening.

The North Korean delegation is in the South as President Moon Jae-in pushes forward with engagement.

In Singapore for the ASEAN summit on Wednesday, Moon said he would "actively review" the possibility of inviting North Korea's Kim Jong Un to the 20th ASEAN Korea summit to be held in Seoul in 2019, Seoul Pyongyang News reported.

Moon made the statement after Indonesian President Joko Widodo had suggested the idea, according to the report.

Moon also met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the ASEAN gathering.

Yonhap reported Moon credited Putin for his "interest and support" for the peace process on the Korean Peninsula, starting with the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics held earlier this year.

Putin has yet to meet with Kim Jong Un.