Kim: ‘I will visit Seoul soon’
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shake hands after signing Pyongyang Peace Agreement at the end of their summit talks at the North’s state guesthouse Paekhwawon in Pyongyang, Wednesday. Joint Press Corp
SEOUL/PYONGYANG – North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made a surprise announcement Wednesday that he will visit Seoul soon.
The announcement came at a joint press conference on day two of his summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in that also included the signing of a peace deal and a further commitment to a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.
“I promised South Korean President Moon Jae-in to visit Seoul in the near future this year,” Kim said.
The two leaders held the press conference at North Korea’s state guesthouse Paekhwawon, where they agreed on the Pyongyang Peace Agreement.
“We have agreed to make the Korean Peninsula free from fears of war,” Moon said.
Kim said “today’s Pyongyang deal will lift inter-Korean ties to a new level,” and the latest summit “will advance the era of peace and prosperity.”
The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to “active efforts for a nuclear-free, peaceful Korea.”
“We agreed to remove all sources of conflict from the Korean Peninsula,” Moon said. “And we have agreed to specific denuclearization steps for the first time. Nuclear-free Korea is not far away.”
The “steps” included, according to Moon, the permanent shutdown of nuclear facilities in Yongbyon as well as the Dongchang-ri missile test site and launch pad.
Other military terms include extending the current four-kilometer demilitarized buffer zone, with the military demarcation line (MDL) as the standard line, to 10 kilometers, and a 40-kilometer-wide no-fly zone along the western part of the MDL and an 80 kilometer one along the eastern side to prevent accidental aircraft clashes.
The agreement also affirmed setting up a maritime buffer zone spanning about 80 kilometers in the East and West seas to prevent unintended naval clashes. The measure is designed to keep intact the “maritime peace zone” near the Northern Limit Line and set a joint fishing area.
Their non-military agreements included reconnecting cross-border railways and roads before year’s end, and resuming inter-Korean projects – the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and Mount Geumgang tours – if conditions are met, Moon said.
The two also agreed to open permanent family reunion facilities at an early date.
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| Terms of agreements from the Pyongyang Peace Agreement are stated, to which both parties signed at the Paekhwawon State Guesthouse in Pyongyang, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018. Joint Press Corps |
In his press conference speech, Kim reflected on the PyeongChang Winter Olympics where the two Koreas attended the opening ceremony together and played ice hockey as a united Team Korea. He also mentioned April’s Panmunjeom Agreement, signed at the two leaders’ first summit earlier this year, where he had written “the new history begins now” in a guest book at the inter-Korean border village.
“What I had written there is becoming true,” Kim said Wednesday.
Kim said Wednesday’s declaration covers the military, peace on the peninsula, cross-border visits by people from various professions and fields, and diverse trades, so that “reconciliation and unification of the two Koreas are shared by all Koreans across the peninsula.”
Referring to himself and Moon as “we,” Kim said “our path will encounter unexpected difficulties” but “as we overcome those difficulties we will be stronger as a united race and become the foundation of one strong nation.”
“The world will clearly see how we, torn in half and out of luck for a long time, will define our own destiny,” Kim said.
Moon said it was “breathtaking” to be able to think that the peninsula “finally belongs to the people after suffering from war threats and ideological clashes that led to corruption, privileges and anti-human rights.”
“Pyongyang had promised no more nuclear tests and they kept it,” Moon said. “South Korea also stopped joint military practices with the United States. Gaeseong saw an inter-Korean communication office, providing a permanent channel for our discussion. Such dreamy settings are what are actually happening right now.”
Moon said he invited Kim to Seoul. It would be the first visit by a North Korean leader to the city and, according to Moon, “an innovative footing for the inter-Korean tie.”
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| President Moon and South Korean National Intelligence Service chief Suh Hoon, on left side, and Kim, accompanied by vice chairman of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party Central Committee Kim Yong-chol, conduct the third summit between the two leaders at Paekhwawon, Wednesday morning. Joint Press Corps |
Before the press conference, the leaders signed a comprehensive agreement on military tension reduction as a result of their third bilateral summit.
Military top brass from the two Koreas, South Korean defense minister Song Young-moo and his North Korean counterpart No Kwang-chol, also signed the agreement and exchanged the documents.
The leaders started the second round of formal talks at Paekhwawon at 10 a.m. Wednesday, seeking to establish lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula. Moon and his wife Kim Jung-sook spent the first night of their three-day visit at the guesthouse.
Unlike the first round of talks the previous day, the latest meeting involved only the two leaders.
On Tuesday, Kim thanked Moon for brokering his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in June and expressed hope for further progress in nuclear talks with the United States.
“I feel the great weight we must bear, along with a heavy responsibility. I wish this will be a summit that produces abundant results as a gift to the 80 million people of this nation for Chuseok,” Moon said, referring to the upcoming holiday that falls on Monday.
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| After Moon and Kim signed Pyongyang Peace Agreement, South Korean defense minister Song Young-moo, left, and his North Korean counterpart No Kwwang-chol sign the agreeement at North Korea’s state guesthouse Paekhwawon, Wednesday. Yonhap |
Shortly after the two Koreas’ joint press conference was broadcast live on television, U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted about the historic event.
Trump said Kim “has agreed to allow nuclear inspections, subject to final negotiations, and to permanently dismantle a test site and launch pad in the presence of international experts.”
“In the meantime there will be no rocket or nuclear testing,” said Trump, who is another key figure in realizing the Pyongyang Peace Agreement. His tweet blitz extended to a second a few minutes later, saying “very exciting!” referring to Moon’s announcement that two Koreas will bid to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympic Games.
Hours later, the Korean leaders agreed to visit Mount Paektu on the North Korea-China border on Thursday. South Korean presidential office Cheong Wa Dae confirmed Kim proposed visiting the peninsula’s highest peak and Moon accepted.