Kim Jong Un’s Swiss boarding school days serve as inspiration for summit menu
SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will be served Swiss rösti with a Korean twist at a summit on Friday with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the South’s presidential Blue House said on Tuesday.
The fried potato dish was chosen as an homage to Kim’s childhood spent in Switzerland, the Blue House said in announcing the menu for Friday’s welcome dinner.
Baked John Dory, a dish made from the flat sea fish, will be served as a nod to Moon’s younger days in the South Korean port city of Busan.
North Korea has never confirmed Kim Jong Un was educated in Switzerland, but former classmates and teachers have said they spent time with him there. Swiss newspapers have also reported Kim went to school under a pseudonym in Switzerland.
Another item on the menu will be Pyongyang-style cold noodles, or naengmyeon, served in a chilled meat broth.
“President Moon had requested Pyongyang-style cold noodles from Okryu Gwan be included on the menu and North Korea gladly accepted,” said Kim Eui-kyeom, the Blue House spokesman.
Okryu Gwan is North Korea’s best-known restaurant famous for the dish, and has branches in China as well.
The cold noodles will be made by the head chef at Okryu Gwan, who will travel to the truce border village of Panmunjom where the two leaders will meet on Friday, the Blue House spokesman said.
Kim and Moon can wash down their meal with a fragrant wine made from azaleas.
Also on their table will be a distilled liquor called munbaeju that is 40 percent alcohol by volume and which originated in the North, but is now traditionally made in the South.