Pyongyang, Seoul reach agreement to hold inter-Korean summit

The North Korean leader and South Korean high-level envoys have reached an "satisfactory" agreement during their meeting in Pyongyang, to hold a inter-Korean summit with the South Korean President, the North Korean state news agency KCNA reported on Tuesday.

Seoul's representatives delivered a letter from South Korean President Moon Jae-in to Kim Jong-un, who, upon "hearing the intention of President Moon Jae-in for a summit (...), exchanged views and made a satisfactory agreement," according to the North Korean state media.

Kim and the South Korean envoys also exchanged views on what steps to take to "ease the military tensions on the Korean Peninsula and promote dialogue, cooperation and exchange."

The North Korean leader, according to Efe, held a "sincere conversation" with Seoul's delegation, showed them his "firm will to vigorously advance the north-south relations and write a new history of national reunification" and gave instructions to "rapidly take practical steps" for this bilateral improvement.

In early February, Kim Yo-jong, the sister of the North Korean leader, made an historic visit to South Korea on the occasion of the Winter Olympic Games, held in the South Korean county of PyeongChang, and conveyed to Moon an invitation to travel to Pyongyang and participate in a high-level inter-Korean summit, the first of its kind in more than a decade.

The South Korean president welcomed the invitation, but considered that certain conditions should be met to make his visit to Pyongyang a reality, including a new round of talks between the United States and North Korea.

If the meeting between Kim and Moon were to be held, it would be the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade, after the ones held in Pyongyang in 2000 and 2007 between the late leader and father of Kim Jong-un, Kim Jong-il, and the former South Korean presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Tae-woo, respectively.

--IANS

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