South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Wednesday agreed to make the Korean peninsula a “region without nuclear weapons”. The two leaders signed a joint statement in Pyongyang, South China Morning Post reported.
“Moon and I have agreed to make the Korean peninsula a region without nuclear weapons and nuclear threats,” Kim said at a press conference. “The September declaration will take the inter-Korean relations to a higher level to bring the era of peace and prosperity.” The North Korean leader also promised to visit Seoul in the “near future”.
Moon said the two Koreas have “agreed on [a] specific method on denuclearisation”, which includes the “permanent closure” of missile launch facilities at the Sohae launching station in North Korea’s Tongchang-ri.
The South Korean president is on a three-day trip to Pyongyang for his third summit with Kim this year and is hoping to reboot denuclearisation talks between North Korea and the United States, AFP reported.
Meanwhile, the defence chiefs of the two nations on Wednesday signed a military agreement intended to reduce tensions and prevent accidental clashes, reported Yonhap News Agency. Defence Minister Song Young-moo and his North Korean counterpart No Kwang-chol signed the agreement in Pyongyang as part of efforts to enforce the agreement they had reached during a historic summit in April to halt “all hostile acts” against each other.
Before Wednesday’s meeting, the two sides also held a series of talks on proposals, including withdrawal of border guard posts on a trial basis, carrying out a joint project to excavate Korean War remains in the demilitarised zone and disarming the Joint Security Area in Panmunjom.
The two nations have also agreed to jointly seek to host the 2032 Summer Olympics, reported AP.
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 keep on track Pyongyang’s planned summit with the United States in June.
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