President Moon Jae-in brought home substantial progress in inter-Korean relations as well as denuclearization, Thursday, after a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang.

The leaders agreed to ease military tension and remove the danger of war on the Korean Peninsula by setting up maritime, air and ground buffer zones along border areas.

The summit also elicited a public statement from the North Korean leader on his willingness to denuclearize and produced tangible denuclearization measures, such as the permanent shutting down of the North’s Tongchang-ri missile testing site in the presence of international experts.

The agreement reached between the leaders at the Pyongyang summit was welcomed by South Korea’s key allies.

“We had very good news from North Korea, South Korea. They met, and we had some great responses,” Trump told reporters at the White House, Wednesday. “We’re making tremendous progress with respect to North Korea,” he said.

In a statement, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo referred to the agreements as a “successful outcome” and welcomed Moon and Kim’s “reaffirmation of the Singapore joint statement of complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the Koreas “reached new important consensus.” “As a close neighbor to the Korean Peninsula, China always supports North and South Korea in improving their relations,” he said.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minister expressed respect for the leaders’ efforts to reach the agreements and stated hopes that they would lead to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. He told reporters Japan will continue to work closely with the U.S. and South Korea on the matter.

Russia’s presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov referred to the agreements as “good news” and stated Russia’s support for “effective steps towards the settlement of the Korean problem.”

Cheong Wa Dae stated it was significant that all of the relevant states showed their support.

“We believe a new process which is supported by all the relevant states is unfolding,” senior presidential press secretary Yoon Young-chan said.

President Moon speaks to journalists at Main Press Center in Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Jung-gu, Seoul, after arriving at the Seoul Airport. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Meanwhile, North Korea’s pledge to take tangible denuclearization measures prompted Washington to immediately extend its hand to Pyongyang for further talks. The invitation comes after weeks of stalled negotiations between the countries.

In the statement, Pompeo stated the U.S. is “prepared to engage immediately in negotiations to transform U.S.-North Korea relations.”

It said Pompeo invited North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho to New York for a meeting and asked Pyongyang to begin denuclearization talks with its new Special Representative Stephen Biegun in Vienna, as soon as circumstances allow.

“This will mark the beginning of negotiations to transform U.S.-North Korea relations through the process of rapid denuclearization of North Korea, to be completed by January 2021, as committed to by Chairman Kim, and to construct a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula,” the statement said.

The location for the proposed U.S. talks with North Korea is home to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“We believe the symbolic meaning of the location being where the IAEA is headquartered was considered,” South Korea’s nuclear envoy Lee Do-hoon told reporters at the press center for the inter-Korean summit in Seoul.

Meanwhile, some terms in the U.S. statement did not match the joint statement from the Pyongyang summit such as the “permanent dismantlement of all facilities at Yongbyon in the presence of U.S. and IAEA inspectors.”

The statement did not refer to the “reciprocal measure” the North Korea stated the U.S. needed to take before it would permanently shut down its Yongbyon nuclear facility, as stated in the inter-Korean agreement.

While the “reciprocal measure” by the U.S. was not specified, it is speculated to be declaring an end to the 1950-53 Korean War, which North Korea has repeatedly been calling for.

In addition, the statement did not specify that the IAEA would be included in “international experts” that would be present when the North shut down its Tongchang-ri missile testing site.

Regarding the matter, Lee said “the statement could be based on grounds that have not been made known, or the U.S. may have stated its demands in the statement.”

He stated that significant progress has been made toward completing conditions for the U.S. to be able to declare an end to the war.

Source:.koreatimes.co.kr