North Korea's special representative for U.S. affairs Kim Hyok-chol left Beijing late Wednesday afternoon for Hanoi, where he will meet his U.S. counterpart and fine-tune agenda items for a second summit between the two countries. 

He is expected to arrive in Hanoi at around 8:40 p.m. 

He is being accompanied by senior officials who traveled to Washington last month with Pyongyang’s top negotiator Kim Yong-chol.

Choe Kang-il, acting head of the North American department of the North’s Foreign Ministry, and Kim Song-hye, head of strategy at the United Front Department(UFD) of the ruling Workers’ Party, are among them. 

According to the U.S. State Department, Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun also left for Hanoi on Tuesday to meet him. Their meeting is expected to begin on Thursday. 

Other preparations for the upcoming summit, including diplomatic protocols, are already being coordinated in Hanoi between Kim Chang-son, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's de facto chief of staff, and Daniel Walsh, deputy chief of operations at the White House.

[Photo : YONHAP News]