During the meeting, the parties were expected to exchange opinions on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and on an inter-Korean summit slated for late April and a U.S.-North Korea summit expected in May.

“The participants had a constructive exchange of views in a positive atmosphere,” Kimmo Lahdevirta, head of the Asia desk at the Finnish foreign ministry, told reporters at a government manor in Northern Helsinki where the delegates had been secluded.

Lahdevirta added that the meeting was “one of a series of academic sessions over many years that have explored approaches to building confidence and reducing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.”

He declined to elaborate on the agenda.

Experts predicted that the meeting would serve as a chance to prepare for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un‘s summits planned with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Choe was included in North Korea’s high-level delegation to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in late February. His visit to South Korea had raised prospects about possible contact between the U.S. and North Korea. (Yonhap)