North Korea agreed on Wednesday to “permanently” abolish its key missile facilities in the presence of foreign experts and said it is willing to close its main nuclear complex if the United States takes unspecified “reciprocal action”.
Speaking at a joint news conference in Pyongyang, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Unsaid they agreed to turn the Korean peninsula into a “land of peace without nuclear weapons and nuclear threats” and take”prompt steps” toward the goal.
The third summit this year between the leaders of the two Koreas was aimed at improving ties between the hostile neighbours and rekindling stalled negotiations on the North’s nuclear programme between Pyongyang and Washington.
Kim pledged to work toward the “complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula” during his two meetings with Moon earlier this year and his historic encounter with US President Donald Trump in June.
But discussions over how to implement the vague commitments have since faltered, with Washington demanding concrete action towards denuclearisation by Pyongyang before agreeing to key goals of Pyongyang – declaring an official end to the Korean War and easing tough international sanctions.
Trump called the latest pledges “very exciting”.
“Kim Jong Un has agreed to allow Nuclear inspections, subject to final negotiations and to permanently dismantle atest site and launch pad in the presence of international experts. In the meantime there will be no Rocket or Nuclear testing,” Trump wrote on Twitter.
Kim said he will visit Seoul in the near future, in what would be the first-ever visit to the South’s capital by a North Korean leader. Moon said the visit was expected to take place by the end of the year.
