Third inter-Korean summit ends with visit to Mt Paekdu and big promises for peace

World Today

South Korean President Moon Jae-in answers a reporter’s question after returning from DPRK at a press center for the inter-Korean summit in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

South Korean leader Moon Jae-in is back in Seoul after his third summit with Kim Jung Un. The two leaders are touting a new era of peace following talks in Pyongyang. Now the big question is: what happens after the handshakes, agreements and pledges of denuclearization?

CGTN’s Connie Lee filed this report on the historic summit.

DPRK’s Kim wants second meeting with Trump to spur denuclearization

The leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un expressed willingness to meet U.S. President Donald Trump again, President of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Moon Jae-in said in a TV address in Seoul after his third summit with Kim.

Kim, who recently proposed the second meeting with Trump after their unprecedented June summit in Singapore, added that declaring a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War would prompt rapid further steps by Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear and missile programs, Moon said.

“Chairman Kim expressed his wish that he wanted to complete denuclearization quickly and focus on economic development,” the president added.

Moon also quoted Kim as saying that he hoped U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would visit his country soon.

Pompeo’s announced visit to Pyongyang in August was canceled after Trump said insufficient progress had been made on the denuclearization issue.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks during a news conference after returning from North Korea at a press center for the inter-Korean summit in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018. Moon said he was told by DPRK leader Kim Jong Un that he wants the U.S. secretary of state to come to Pyongyang for nuclear talks. Kim also wants a second summit with President Donald Trump as soon as possible. Moon was briefing reporters Thursday after returning to Seoul after a three-day summit in Pyongyang with the DPRK leader.(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Kim pledged to work toward the “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” during two meetings with Moon this year and at his summit with Trump, but talks on how to implement the vague commitments have since faltered.

Washington has demanded concrete action, such as a full disclosure of the DPRK’s nuclear and missile facilities, before agreeing to Pyongyang’s key goals, including an easing of international sanctions and an official end to the Korean War.

An end-of-war declaration would not affect the presence of U.S. troops and the United Nations Command in ROK, Moon said, adding that Kim shared his view.

“It would be a political declaration that would mark a starting point for peace negotiations.”

A peace treaty would be sealed, as well as normalization of DPRK-US relations after the DPRK achieves complete denuclearization, Moon added.


Young-Key Kim-Renaud on the road ahead for peace in the Korean Peninsula

To discuss possible next steps for peace on the Korean Peninsula, CGTN’s Asieh Namdar spoke to Young-Key Kim-Renaud. Kim-Renaud is a Professor Emeritus and a Senior Advisor for the Institute for Korean Studies at George Washington University.