Vow to normalise relations
Kim agrees to close missile site and allow inspections in bid to salvage nuclear talks
NORTH Korea has agreed to take concrete steps towards denuclearisation, pending the US taking corresponding measures, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said after summit meetings in Pyongyang.
At a news conference with Kim Jong-un, Moon said the North Korean leader had agreed to allow international experts to witness the dismantling of its west coast Sohae missile engine testing facility and launch pad.
However, Kim said that the shutdown of the North’s main nuclear facility, the Yongbyon research centre, would be dependent on the US taking corresponding measures.
Exactly what North Korea wanted from the US was unclear, as was the planned timetable for the moves. Kim said nothing about the dismantling of his existing arsenal, which the US has demanded.
The Yongbyon complex houses a nuclear reactor, a fuel reprocessing facility that can recover weapons-grade plutonium and a uranium enrichment facility, which can also be used to make nuclear weapons.
Both Koreas had agreed to “remove all dangers that could cause wars on the peninsula”, Moon said, adding: “Complete denuclearisation is in the not-too-distant future.”
Moon said that the two countries had agreed to launch a bid to jointly host the 2032 Summer Olympics. “We are going to restore normal life,” said Moon, the first South Korean president to visit Pyongyang in 11 years.
The news conference came after the two leaders, who were meeting for third time this year following summits in April and May, were broadcast live on TV signing their agreement.
That agreement included the creation of buffer along their borders and a no-fly zone along the military demarcation line that divides them in order to avoid accidental clashes.
Both sides had also agreed to suspend artillery drills and field manoeuvres within the zones from November 1, Yonhap reported.
Both sides have also agreed to establish a buffer zone in the Yellow Sea where military exercises and naval manoeuvres would be prohibited.
US President Donald Trump hailed the outcome of the summit. He said agreements reached at the meeting in which North Korea said it would permanently abolish its key missile facilities with witnesses was “very good news”.
“He’s calm and I’m calm, so we’ll see what happens,” Trump said, referring to Kim.
Japan expressed hope that the joint declaration would lead to “complete” denuclearisation on the peninsula.
The Kremlin said that it approved of agreements reached, describing them as effective steps towards a political settlement.
China, North Korea’s most important ally, also welcomed the outcome of the inter-Korean summit and said it would continue supporting both sides in further talks on reducing tensions.