Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon (Left) and his North Korean counterpart Ri Son-gwon
Seoul and Pyongyang fixed the date and location for a meeting between their summits Moon Jae-in of the South and Kim Jong-un of the North to April 27 at the southern side of the truce village of Panmunjom to work towards a watershed path of denuclearization and lasting peace, the Blue House said.
Details of an inter-Korean summit were announced after high-level talks at the northern side of the border on Thursday. Kim will be the first North Korean leader to cross the border after the two Koreas were bisected. The previous summit meetings with South Korean heads and Kim’s father Kim Jong-il in 2000 and 2007 were both held in Pyongyang.
Unlike the past ceremonial meetings, the upcoming talks will specifically address the denuclearization agenda as Kim during a surprise visit to Beijing earlier this week had expressed his will on denuclearization to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“Our people should become united to make the inter-Korean summit meeting as a milestone for lasting peace in the Korean Peninsula,” said Kim Eui-kyeom, presidential spokesman.
Along with the denuclearization scheme, the two leaders will discuss various issues to upgrade inter-Korean ties, he said. Economic ties between the two Koreas have been cut off for nearly a decade amid repeated military provocations from Pyongyang. Mood dramatically turned from war-like tensions of last year following a series of nuclear and missile tests earlier after Pyongyang sent delegations and athletes to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics held in the South in February.
The upcoming meeting would be pivotal in setting the tone for the follow-up meeting between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump who had exchanged fiery talks throughout last year.
Markets also turned hopeful as the summit schedule became concrete. By 1:00 p.m. Friday, the main composite Kospi gained 0.7 percent and Kosdaq 0.6 percent. The won added 1.80 won to 1,064.2 against the U.S. dollar.
By Kang Gye-man and Cho Jeehyun
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