Kim, Moon agree on denuclearisation
SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jongun and South Korean President Moon Jaein embraced yesterday after pledging to work for the ‘‘complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula,’’ punctuating a day of smiles and handshakes at the first interKorean summit in more than a decade.
The two Koreas announced they would work with the United States and China this year to declare an official end to the 1950s Korean war and seek an agreement to establish ‘‘permanent’’ and ‘‘solid’’ peace in its place.
The declaration included promises to pursue phased military arms reduction, cease hostile acts, transform their fortified border into a peace zone, and seek multilateral talks with other countries including the US.
‘‘The two leaders declare before our people of 80 million and the entire world there will
be no more war on the Korean peninsula and a new age of peace has begun,’’ the declaration said.
Earlier, Kim became the first North Korean leader since the 195053 Korean War to set foot in South Korea after shaking hands with his counterpart over a concrete curb marking the border in the heavily fortified demilitarised zone between the countries.
Scenes of Moon and Kim joking and walking together marked a striking contrast to last year’s barrage of North Korean missile tests and its largest ever nuclear test that led to sweeping international sanctions and fears of a fresh conflict on the Korean peninsula.
Their dramatic meeting comes weeks before Kim is due to meet US President Donald Trump and Moon agreed to visit Pyongyang this year.
A Trump praised the meeting of North Korean leader Kim Jongun and South Korean President Moon Jaein in a tweet late last night. ‘‘After a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear test ing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place. Good things are happening, but only time will tell!’’ Trump wrote in a post on Twitter. — Reuters