South Korea, DPRK select date for Kim and Moon meeting

World Today

NKorea-SKorea-diplomacy-PanmunjomSouth Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyun (C) crosses the border line to attend a high-level inter-Korea talks on the northern side of the border truce of village of Panmunjom on March 29, 2018. (AFP PHOTO / KOREA POOL)

A date has been set for the summit between Korean leaders Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in. But while the meeting will be the first of its kind in more than a decade, the diplomatic developments are extending beyond just the Peninsula.

CGTN’s John Terrett has more.

Officials from South Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea announced April 27 as the date for the third inter-Korean summit. The meeting will take place in Panmunjom, the uninhabited village just south of the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas.

If the summit takes place, Kim Jong Un will become the first DPRK leader to set foot on South Korean soil in almost seventy years. The last such instance was before the Korean War, which ended in 1953.

The first inter-Korean summit took place in 2000, followed by the second in 2007. Both were held in Pyongyang.

“We will closely consult with the North to make the inter-Korean summit, which is scheduled for late April, a success,” South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-Gyon said.

On the agenda, according to South Korea, are the possible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and exchange visits for people between the North and the South.

The announcement comes days after Kim Jong Un made a surprise visit to Beijing, where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Yang Jiechi, Xi’s special representative, was in Seoul on Thursday to brief the South Korean government on the visit.

“We believe Kim’s visit will help the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, ensure peace and security and solve problems regarding the Korean Peninsula through political negotiations and discussions,” he said.

The April inter-Korean summit is not the only meeting in the works. Among the highest profile is a Kim-Trump meeting slated for May, which has yet to have an exact date announced.

Japanese officials are known to be angling for talks as well, going through their embassy in Beijing. Russia is also reportedly considering inviting Kim to Moscow.


Christopher Yung on Korean Peninsula diplomacy

The two Koreas are paving the way for an easing of strained relations. Seoul and Pyongyang have agreed on a date for a Summit between leaders Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in. To fnd out more, CGTN’s Susan Roberts spoke with Christopher Yung, the Donald Bren Chair of Non-Western Strategic Thought at the Marine Corps University.