South, North Korea agree to third summit, at Panmunjom, in April

SEOUL – South Korea’s National Security Office Chief,  Chung Eui-yong, has confirmed that South and North Korea have agreed to hold a third inter-Korean summit at the Peace House at the Panmunjom truce village in late April. Chung led a special South Korean delegation to Pyongyang to meet the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un. 

“The North clearly expressed its commitment to the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and said it would have no reason to possess nuclear weapons should the safety of its regime be guaranteed and if military threats against the North were removed, said the senior Presidential security adviser.

Chung said, “The North expressed its will to have candid dialogue with the U.S. to discuss the issue of denuclearisation and the normalisation of Pyongyang-Washington ties.

“The North clearly stated that it would not resume any strategic, provocative acts, such as additional nuclear tests or the firing of ballistic missiles. As the talks continue, they also vowed neither to use any nuclear weapons nor any conventional weapon toward the South.”

Chung said that the two sides would work together on more detailed working-level negotiations. He said they had agreed to set up a hotline between the two leaders to ease military tensions and to further enhance close consultations. 

He also said that both sides agreed to have their first telephone conversation before the third inter-Korean summit. www.koreanet.kr (ATI).