While the North on Saturday said it will invite foreign journalists to witness the closure of its nuclear test site between 23 and 25 May, the announcement didn’t include plans to permit outside verification experts at the site.
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (L) and South Korea's President Moon Jae-in (R) hug during a signing ceremony near the end of their historic summit at the truce village of Panmunjom on April 27, 2018. (Photo: AFP PHOTO / Korea Summit Press Pool / Korea Summit Press Pool)
The two Koreas will hold a high-level meeting tomorrow to discuss setting up military and Red Cross talks aimed at reducing border tension and restarting reunions between families separated by the Korean War.
Seoul’s Unification Ministry said Tuesday the meeting at a border truce village will discuss ways to carry out peace commitments made between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in in their summit last month. The discussions may also include setting up working-level talks between the countries’ sports officials over plans to field combined teams in certain sports at the Asian Games in August.
The meeting comes ahead of the 12 June summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump. Those talks are part of a global diplomatic push to resolve the issue of Pyongyang’s nuclear program.
Advertisement
After their 27 April meeting, Kim and Moon issued a vague vow for the “complete” denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. They also agreed to stop all hostile acts over “land, sea and air” that can cause military tensions and clashes, and to resume temporary reunions between war-separated families.
South Korea, which brokered the planned talks between Trump and Kim, says Kim has genuine interested in dealing away his nuclear weapons in return for economic benefits.
But there are lingering doubts on whether Kim will ever agree to fully relinquish his nukes. Pyongyang for decades has been pushing a concept of “denuclearisation” that bears no resemblance to the American definition, vowing to pursue nuclear development unless Washington removes its troops and the nuclear umbrella defending South Korea and Japan.
While the North on Saturday said it will invite foreign journalists to witness the closure of its nuclear test site between 23 and 25 May, the announcement didn’t include plans to permit outside verification experts at the site.
Advertisement
