SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Moon flies to Pyongyang for third inter-Korean summit
Seoul, Sept 17 (AFP) Sep 17, 2018
South Korean President Moon Jae-in flies to Pyongyang Tuesday for his third summit with Kim Jong Un as he seeks to rekindle stalled denuclearisation talks between North Korea and the United States.

Moon -- whose own parents fled the North during the 1950-53 Korean War -- will fly there for a three-day trip, following in the footsteps of his predecessors Kim Dae-jung in 2000 and mentor Roh Moo-hyun in 2007.

The rare trip comes amid a rapid diplomatic thaw on the peninsula that has seen Moon and Kim exchange brotherly hugs and warm smiles at their first meeting in April at the Demilitarised Zone dividing the peninsula.

The North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the summit "will offer an important opportunity in further accelerating the development of inter-Korean relations that is making a new history."

Moon, who met Kim again in May, was instrumental in brokering the historic summit the following month between US President Donald Trump and Kim in Singapore, when Kim backed denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

But no details were agreed and Washington and Pyongyang have sparred since over what that means and how it will be achieved.

The US is pressing for the North's "final, fully verified denuclearisation," while Pyongyang wants a formal declaration that the 1950-53 Korean War is over and has condemned "gangster-like" demands for it to give up its weapons unilaterally.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke with telephone with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on Sunday and Monday about the upcoming summit, a State Department statement said.

The pair "vowed to maintain close coordination on continuing DPRK denuclearisation efforts and inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation," it said, stressing "the importance to maintain pressure until we achieve the shared goal of final, fully verified denuclearization of the DPRK."

The dovish South Korean president -- who has displayed genuine affection towards Kim at past meetings -- will hold at least two meetings with the North's leader, where he will try to convince Pyongyang to carry out substantive steps towards disarmament.

"We will push for North Korea's advanced denuclearisation and a reciprocal measure from the US by swiftly reviving sincere dialogue aimed at establishing new, peaceful relations," Moon's chief of staff Im Jong-seok said.

Moon will be accompanied by several business tycoons -- including Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong and the vice chairman of Hyundai Motor -- and is scheduled to visit key sites in Pyongyang with his delegation.

He has been pushing inter-Korean economic co-operation but several South Korean newspapers urged caution Monday, with the Korea Herald calling the businessmen's presence on the trip "untimely."

"It is better to postpone economic projects involving the North until after negotiations to remove its nuclear program make substantial progress," it said in an editorial.

And investment in the North was "fraught with risks and uncertainty," it added.

But Moon's office said the inclusion of the businessmen was "not special," given the heads of major conglomerates had been in Pyongyang for the previous inter-Korean summits in the city.

Other issues on Moon's agenda include improving inter-Korean ties and easing military tensions on the peninsula.

Seoul said that could lay the groundwork for a formal declaration on the Korean War, when hostilities ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty -- implying that such an announcement was unlikely during the trip.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Bearings Used in Space Technologies: Engineering for the Final Frontier
China prepares for Mars sample return with HKU astrobiologist on mission team
Robots could one day crawl across the moon

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Ultrasound triggers nuclear decay anomaly hinting at flexible space-time
AI system accelerates aircraft concept design using language models
Autonomous sub explores unexplored trench depths to reveal critical mineral clues

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
PLD Space selected as leading contender for ESA sovereign launch initiative
UK opens competitive bid for GBP 75 million orbital cleanup mission
Why Satellite Jamming Is the New Frontline in Global Conflict

24/7 News Coverage
Glacier retreat could drive a surge in volcanic eruptions worldwide
UK thermal satellite firm wins ESA contract to deliver real time climate and security insights
Beyond male dominance in primates new study redefines gender power roles



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.