North and South Korea will hold a summit in Pyongyang between September 18 and 20 to discuss “practical measures” toward denuclearising the peninsula, AP reported on Thursday. This will be the third inter-Korean summit this year.
South Korea’s National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “reconfirmed his determination to completely denuclearise” the peninsula, and expressed his willingness for close cooperation with Pyongyang and the United States in that regard. He and other South Korean envoys met Kim in Pyongyang on Wednesday.
Chung said the North Korean leader reiterated his faith in United States President Donald Trump. “Chairman Kim ... expressed frustration over the doubt shown by some parts of the international society about his will,” he said, according to Reuters. “North Korea has been preemptively carrying out measures needed for denuclearisation, and Kim said he would appreciate that such good faith is accepted with good faith.”
In June, Kim Jong-un committed to the “complete denuclearisation” of the Korean Peninsula after his historic meeting with Trump in Singapore. In a joint document they signed after their meeting, the two traditional enemies agreed to establish new relations.
But not much progress has been made since then. In August, North Korea criticised the US for urging other countries to keep up sanctions against Pyongyang for its nuclear weapons programme. A month before that, United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said North Korea was continuing to produce fuel for nuclear bombs despite its pledge to denuclearise.
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