Long and winding road before NKorea denuclearizes – analysts

SEOUL: Friday’s inter-Korea summit saw the North’s leader Kim Jong Un pledge his backing for a nuclear-free peninsula, but the devil will be in the details and much depends on his meeting with Donald Trump, analysts say.

Kim met South Korean President Moon Jae- in at the border truce village of Panmunjom, in the highlight of a diplomatic whirlwind that has swept the flashpoint peninsula.

In a joint declaration, they “confirmed the common goal of realizing, through complete denuclearization, a nuclear- free Korean peninsula”.

Moon hailed the declaration as a “precious start” for denuclearization of the peninsula -- a diplomatic euphemism open to interpretation on both sides.

Pyongyang has long wanted to see an end to the US military presence and nuclear umbrella over the South, but it invaded its neighbor in 1950 and is the only one of the two Koreas to possess nuclear weapons.

Koo Kab-woo, professor at the University of North Korean Studies, told AFP the declaration was “much stronger than what I expected”.

“It mentions complete denuclearization, which sends a positive signal to the US,” he said.

But analysts say it remains to be seen whether the vague statement will lead to more concrete steps toward denuclearization.

The declaration was a “necessary but not sufficient step”, said Daniel Pinkston, a North Korea expert at Troy University in the United States.

“Everything will turn on followup, details and implementation,” he added. “There is a very long way to go.”

Pyongyang announced last week a moratorium on atomic and intercontinental missile tests -- a move that met with skepticism from some analysts who argued the North may see little need to further test its proven weapons capability anyway.

And the North has declared moratoriums before and talked about denuclearization, while previous agreements have ultimately floundered, with Pyong-