Seoul on Friday said an upcoming visit by North Korea’s Kim Yong Chol had been accepted based on its judgment that Kim could be a counterpart for “substantive dialogue," declining to blame him directly for the 2010 sinking of the Cheonan.

Amid growing domestic opposition to Kim’s visit to South Korea, a Ministry of Unification (MOU) spokesperson urged the public to understand the Moon administration’s decision “from a broad and future-oriented view."