Koreas will get rid of nuclear weapons
PLEDGE AT HISTORIC MEETING
THE two Koreas have agreed to rid their peninsula of nuclear weapons after historic talks between the two leaders.
A joint statement issued by Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in said the two had confirmed their goal of achieving “a nuclear-free Korean peninsula through complete denuclearisation”.
The pair did not provide any specific new measures or forge a potential breakthrough on the pledge, but the summit will be remembered for the sight of two men from nations with a bitter rivalry holding each other’s hands and grinning from ear to ear.
Standing at a podium next to Mr Moon after the talks ended, Mr Kim faced a wall of cameras beaming his image live to the world and declared the Koreas are “linked by blood as a family and compatriots who cannot live separately”.
Mr Kim’s single step across the weathered concrete marking the Koreas’ border made him the first ruler of North Korea to step on South Korean soil since the war.
The latest declaration between the Koreas, Mr Kim said, should not repeat the “unfortunate history of past inter-Korean agreements that only reached the starting line” before becoming derailed.
Both Koreas agreed to jointly push for talks this year with Washington, and also potentially China, to officially end the Korean War, which finished with an armistice that never ended the war.