Kim said he wished making the Korean Peninsula nuclear-free and stressed that the Panmunjom Declaration, executed during the initial inter-Korean summit between him and Moon in April, would provide the foundation for the new era of peace on the peninsula.
The commitment signed by the two leaders called for steps to further improve inter-Korean ties.
Both sides have consented to begin the work to reconnect their severed railways and roads across the heavily fortified border before the year’s end, according to the agreement.
Defense chiefs from both sides also signed a separate commitment on military affairs in the company of the two leaders.
The DPRK’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) expressed that the two leaders on Tuesday had an “in-depth exchange of opinions on various issues arising in further accelerating the development of the north-south relations by honestly implementing the Panmunjom Declaration in an all-round manner.”
The DPRK head also said he would travel to the south to meet Moon in the future, which would make him the first DPRK top leader to visit Seoul in modern history.
During the joint media conference, Moon said that both principals had explored the steps toward denuclearization for the very first time.
The DPRK “has agreed to permanently shut down its Dongchang-ri missile engine testing facility and missile launch pad under the participation of experts from related countries,” Moon said.
Featured in Moon’s entourage are ministers, senior officials, lawmakers, representatives of the cultural sector and corporate leaders, obviously in line with the latest campaign of the DPRK for economic change.
Moon is expected to end his historical three-day visit to Pyongyang on Thursday.
In a gesture of goodwill, the DPRK top leader appeared at the Pyongyang International Airport to welcome Moon in person and with a grand welcoming ceremony. They rode with each other in a procession on the way to the state guest house and held discussions for about two hours in the afternoon.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s great leader Kim Jong Un proclaimed here Wednesday that he and visiting South Korean President Moon Jae-in had agreed to take additional steps toward making the Korean Peninsula devoid of nuclear weapons and worries of armed conflict.
Moon also said he hoped the talks among the DPRK and the United States would “quickly resume.”
Talks between the DPRK and the United States had stalled after the U.S. side called off a planned trip to Pyongyang by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, citing lack of progression in the denuclearization process.
” The September declaration will open a higher level for the improvement in relations (between the DPRK and South Korea) … and bring closer the era of peace and prosperity,” Kim said at a news conference at the state guest house Paekhwawon shortly following a second round of summit between him and Moon, pertaining to a joint declaration they had signed before meeting the media.
Moon arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday morning for a three-day trip amid mixed prospects for the denuclearization talks between the United States and the DPRK.
