DPRK open to talks on nukes, ROK says

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea showed willingness to hold talks with the United States about denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and agreed on a third summit meeting with the Republic of Korea next month, a senior ROK official said on Tuesday.

Chung Eui-yong, top national security adviser for ROK President Moon Jae-in, said at a televised news briefing that the DPRK expressed its willingness to talk candidly with the US about the denuclearization issue and normalization of ties between Pyongyang and Washington.

The DPRK confirmed its will to denuclearize the peninsula, making it clear that if the military threat toward the country is removed and the regime’s safety guaranteed, the DPRK has no reason to possess its nuclear program, the senior Blue House official said.

Chung returned home earlier in the day after making a two-day visit to Pyongyang, where he met top DPRK leader Kim Jong-un on Monday night together with four other special envoys, including Suh Hoon, director of the ROK’s National Intelligence Service.

The first and second interKorean summit meetings were held in Pyongyang in 2000 and 2007.

The two sides also agreed to set up a hotline between the leaders to ease military tensions and closely coordinate. The first talks through the hotline will be held before the April summit.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang reiterated on Tuesday China’s support for the meeting between the DPRK and the ROK, as well as its hopes for positive momentum that will lead to interaction between the DPRK and the US.

Lasting and deepening talks between Pyongyang and Seoul are very important for stabilizing the situation on the peninsula, said Yang Xiyu, a researcher of Asia-Pacific security at the China Institute of International Studies.

Such talks will help direct talks between Pyongyang and Washington by creating a better security and political atmosphere, Yang added.

Shi Yongming, an Asia-Pacific studies researcher at the China Institute of International Relations, said the meeting between the DPRK’s top leader and the ROK delegation is a substantive breakthrough that proves the “Winter Olympic diplomacy” has been efficient.