Kim, Moon agree on Korean Peninsula's denuclearization

Seoul, April 27: Seoul and Pyongyang on Friday agreed to work together to realise a “complete” denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula following a historic summit between the two countries’ leaders that came after a gap of over a decade. The agreement was part of a joint declaration issued after South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a summit earlier in the day at the truce border village of Panmunjom, reports Yonhap News Agency. “South and North Korea affirmed their shared objective of achieving a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula through complete denuclearisation,” said the declaration signed by both the leaders. They shared the view that the recent steps that the North had taken were “very meaningful” and “important” for denuclearisation efforts and agreed to do their respective part in that matter, the declaration said.

The two Koreas had earlier agreed to denuclearise their countries and establish permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula in their two previous summits held in 2000 and 2007. The talks began at 10.15 a.m., about 45 minutes after Kim crossed the MDL, becoming the first North Korean leader to do so since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

Kim surprised many by inviting Moon to briefly cross the inter-Korean border to the North Korean side, which South Korean officials said was not pre-arranged. Moon expressed his gratitude to Kim for agreeing to hold the summit. Pyongyang staged nearly a dozen missile tests since Moon took office in May 2017, while also conducting its sixth and most powerful nuclear test in September. Friday’s summit marked the third inter-Korean summit and the first to be held in South Korea. (IANS)