Koreas to discuss denuclearisation in pre-summit talks

Chung Eui-yong, top national security advisor for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, on Tuesday said that deliberations on the complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula would be held ahead of the visit by a special delegation to North Korea.

Briefing the media, Chung Eui-yong was quoted by Yonhap News Agency as saying, "The special delegation also plans to hold discussions on ways to completely denuclearise (the peninsula) and establish lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula."

A five-member delegation, which would be visiting North Korea on Wednesday, will be led by Chung and also include National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon and Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung.

Explaining the agenda of the visit, Chung underscored that the delegation would set the date for the third-inter Korean summit between Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang and discuss ways to bolster inter-Korean relations.

"First, the delegation will seek to set a specific date for the South-North summit that the countries have already agreed to hold in Pyongyang in September. Second, it will discuss ways to develop South-North Korean relations by implementing the Panmunjom declaration," he said while referring to the agreement signed by the two Korean leaders during their first-ever meeting in the border village of Panmunjom in April.

The visit assumes significance as Moon and Kim had agreed to hold their summit in North Korea, in an effort to improve inter-Korean relations and implement the agreements reached in the Panmunjom declaration.

In the April meeting, both the Korean leaders had agreed to cease hostilities against each other and work together for achieving denuclearisation and peace on the Korean Peninsula. They met again in the northern side of Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) in May.

If the third summit goes ahead, then this would be the first time Moon would visit North Korea as a head of the state, although during the April meeting, he had briefly crossed over the northern side of the inter-Korean border with Kim.