Two Koreas set agenda and date for fresh inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang

By Lim Chang-won Posted : September 6, 2018, 12:50 Updated : September 6, 2018, 12:50

[Courtesy of the presidential Blue House]


SEOUL -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in will make a three-day visit to Pyongyang on September 18 for his third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to spur denuclearization and discuss practical measures to establish peace on the Korean peninsula, his envoy said Thursday.

The date for a fresh inter-Korean summit was fixed on Wednesday when Kim met with a South Korean delegation led by Chung Eui-yong, head of the presidential National Security Office, in Pyongyang.

At talks with South Korean officials, Kim reaffirmed his firm commitment to complete denuclearization and expressed his intention to work closely with the United States and South Korea, Chung said Thursday in Seoul, adding Moon would visit Pyongyang for three days from September 18.

The agenda will include the implementation of a peace accord signed at the first inter-Korean summit in April, the settlement of permanent peace, common prosperity and practical measures for denuclearization, among other things.

Chung said the two Koreas agreed to continue their dialogue on easing military tensions and discuss concrete measures to build mutual trust and prevent armed conflicts at the upcoming summit.

In April, the two Koreas agreed to work on ending the status of war, stop all hostile acts against each other and replace a fragile armistice signed at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War with a lasting peace regime. Two months later, U.S. and North Korean leaders agreed to forge a lasting peace regime in return for Pyongyang's complete denuclearization.

However, there has been slow progress in denuclearization. Washington wants quick and tangible steps while Pyongyang insists on a gradual and synchronous approach.

Signing a peace treaty has been a key subject at inter-Korean talks because North Korea wants a non-aggression accord with the U.S. to ensure the security of its regime. Some 28,000 U.S. troops have been stationed in South Korea under a mutual pact.

At a telephone conversation Tuesday with U.S. President Donald Trump, Moon stressed that improved inter-Korean relations would contribute to denuclearization and the establishment of permanent peace on the Korean peninsula.

Kim clarified his will to "completely remove the danger of armed conflict and horror of war from the Korean peninsula and turn it into the cradle of peace without nuclear weapons and free from nuclear threat," according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
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