Kim Jong Un, South Korea’s Moon Jae In to hold rare summit on April 27

The two Koreas agreed Thursday to hold what will be only their third summit since the 1950 to 1953 Korean War on April 27, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported, following talks in the border
village of Panmunjom.

The summit is to be attended by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae In.

The pair will meet in the Peace House on the southern side of Panmunjon, Yonhap reported.

The two sides are also to hold working-level contacts on Wednesday to discuss protocol and security arrangements.

The summit comes after a diplomatic charm offensive launched by Pyongyang and which began with its attendance of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Following a year of high tension, the North made an abrupt about-turn and has said it is willing to discuss its nuclear and missile programmes, most recently during a surprise visit by Kim to Beijing this week.

“Over the past 80 days, there have been many dramatic events that have not been seen earlier,” Ri Son Gwon, the North’s chief delegate told Thursday’s meeting, according to Yonhap.

“The issue of [North Korea’s] denuclearisation [is] the issue that we will focus on for discussion,” Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, the South’s chief delegate, told reporters before leaving for the talks.

The two previous inter-Korean summits, one in 2000 and another in 2007, were both held in Pyongyang.

China confirmed on Wednesday that Kim had made a secretive four-day “unofficial visit” to Beijing, during which he told President Xi Jinping that North Korea was “committed to denuclearisation.”

It was Kim’s first known trip outside North Korea since he became leader in 2011.

Kim is also expected to hold an unprecedented meeting with US President Donald Trump before the end of May, while Japan has also indicated its wish to hold a summit with Pyongyang in North Korea.

Trump on Wednesday expressed optimism about efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and said he was looking forward to meeting Kim, though he also said that “maximum sanctions and pressure”
must be maintained on the reclusive nation.