Projects
Government Bodies
Flag Friday, 29 March 2024
All news
All news
Society
19 September 2018, 10:18

Kim agrees to additional denuclearization steps in summit with Moon

SEOUL, 19 Sept. (BelTA - Yonhap) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed to take additional steps for denuclearization Wednesday, in an apparent gesture to restart its stalled talks with the United States.

The agreement came in a historic summit between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in held at the state guesthouse Paekhwawon in Pyongyang.

"The North has agreed to permanently shut down its Dongchang-ri missile engine testing facility and missile launch pad under the participation of experts from related countries," Moon said in a joint press conference with Kim after the summit, broadcast live in Seoul.

The North also agreed to take additional steps, such as the permanent shutdown of the Yongbyon nuclear facility, depending on the United States' corresponding measures, he added.

"The South and the North discussed denuclearization steps for the first time," Moon said.

Kim said he and Moon agreed to remove all nuclear weapons and threats from the Korean Peninsula.

"The September declaration will open a higher level for the improvement in relations (between the South and the North) ... and bring closer the era of peace and prosperity," Kim said of his agreement signed with Moon after their two-day talks in Pyongyang.

The agreement signed by the leaders of the two Koreas in Pyongyang also called for steps to further improve inter-Korean ties.

The sides have agreed to begin the work to reconnect their severed railways and roads across the heavily fortified border before the year's end.

Also, the countries will reopen their joint industrial park in the North's border town of Kaesong and tourism programs to the North's Mount Kumgang as soon as "conditions are met," the agreement said.

The Kaesong complex was shut down in early 2016 as part of Seoul's unilateral sanctions against the North. Its reopening, however, may violate international sanctions imposed on the communist state.

To further promote reconciliation, the divided Koreas have agreed to soon establish a new joint facility for more frequent and freer reunions of families separated since the end of the Korean War.

The two Koreas technically remain at war as the 1950-53 war ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

In a separate agreement signed by their defense chiefs, the Koreas also agreed to a wide range of steps aimed at further reducing military tension on the Korean Peninsula.

Such steps include setting up a 10-kilometer buffer zone along their border where all artillery drills or regiment-level field maneuvers will be prohibited, according to the military agreement.

In their joint declaration, the leaders said the countries have also agreed to quickly launch a joint military committee to review their implementation of such tension-reducing measures and to enable round-the-clock communication to prevent future conflicts.

The two Koreas will continue to jointly take part in international sporting events, including the upcoming 2020 Olympic Games, the leaders said in their Pyongyang declaration.

They will also seek to jointly host the 2032 Summer Olympic Games.

The North Korean leader said he has agreed to visit Seoul in the near future.

Moon said the near future, barring unforeseen conditions, meant before the year's end.

Following their summit and joint press conference, Moon and Kim continued their dialogue over lunch at Pyongyang's famous cold noodle restaurant, Okryukwan, according to officials in Seoul.

Moon is scheduled to return home early Thursday, but his chief of staff, Im Jong-seok, has said the leader's departure may be delayed for a friendship event with Kim pending on the outcome of their summit in the North Korean capital.

Subscribe to us
Twitter
Recent news from Belarus