North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday said his summit with United States President Donald Trump earlier this year brought about geopolitical stability and that he expects further progress, reported Reuters. Kim credited South Korean President Moon Jae-in for facilitating the “historic” summit as both Koreas started three days of talks at a summit in Pyongyang.
This is the third inter-Korean summit this year and will aim to discuss the prospect of formally ending the Korean War. It will also seek to address the diplomatic impasse between the US and North Korea after the summit in Singapore, where Kim committed to the “complete denuclearisation” of the Korean Peninsula with North Korea and the US agreeing to establish new relations.
The summit “will offer an important opportunity in further accelerating the development of inter-Korea relations that is making a new history”, Xinhua quoted the official Korean Central News Agency as saying.
After Moon landed in Pyongyang on Tuesday afternoon, Kim greeted him with hugs and handshakes, reported Reuters. The two leaders then paraded down the streets of the capital city in a black Mercedes limousine as crowds cheered them on.
Kim said he will aim to bring about a “bigger outcome at a faster pace” than the two countries have achieved so far. “You Mr President are travelling all around the world, but our country is humble compared with developed nations,” Kim told Moon. “The level of the accommodation and schedule we provide may be low, but it’s our best sincerity and heart.”
Moon responded by thanking the North Korean leader for his hospitality and said it was “time to bear fruit”.
Last week, North and South Korea opened a joint liaison office in the North Korean city of Gaeseong to improve communication. The office is being considered the start of a de facto embassy.
Kim and Moon had met during a historic peace summit in South Korea’s border village of Panmunjom on April 27, when they agreed to end the Korean War and make efforts to denuclearise the peninsula. They held another surprise meeting a month later at the same location in an effort to save Pyongyang’s planned summit with the United States in June.
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