Kim Jong Un, Moon Jae-in sign agreement to usher in a 'land of peace'

Thomas Maresca Special to USA TODAY

Published 4:58 AM EDT Sep 19, 2018

SEOUL — South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a broad agreement in Pyongyang on Wednesday that both said would usher in a new era of peace on the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea agreed to take further steps towards denuclearization, including permanently dismantling its Dongchang-ri missile engine test site and launch pad and allowing international inspectors to observe the process, Moon announced at a joint news conference with Kim following the signing ceremony.

Kim said the two sides have taken active measures to free the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons and threats and turn it into a “land of peace.”

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According to the text of the Pyongyang agreement, the North also said it was willing to take additional measures such as decommissioning its Yongbyon nuclear facility if the United States made further concessions “in the spirit of the June 12 North Korea-US joint statement” signed by Kim and President Donald Trump at a historic summit in Singapore.

That meeting between Trump and Kim ended with promises to work towards establishing “a lasting and stable peace regime” and completely denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, but without a roadmap to get there.

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Momentum between the US and North Korea has sputtered since then, with Pyongyang hoping for a peace declaration officially ending the Korean War after 65 years and relief from punishing international sanctions, but Washington holding firm on demands for complete denuclearization first.

“I hope summit talks between the United States and North Korea will resume soon and I hope they can find a point of agreement,” Moon said at Wednesday’s news conference.

Trump quickly weighed in on Twitter, calling the developments “Very exciting!”

"Kim Jong Un has agreed to allow Nuclear inspections, subject to final negotiations, and to permanently dismantle a test site and launch pad in the presence of international experts," he wrote. It was unclear what Trump meant by “nuclear inspections,” as that did not appear in the Pyongyang agreement.

Other reactions to the announcement were more muted.

Paul Carroll, director of nuclear security with NSquare, a San Francisco-based collaborative working on reducing nuclear risks, said that the agreement was vague enough that it leaves “the North lots of leeway before doing anything.”

“Overall, it is good that the two leaders are meeting, but direct involvement with US negotiators needs to happen,” he said.

“There may be more things the North offers, but at the end it will be important to see how President Moon conveys things to President Trump, and what our own response is. For example, will (Secretary of State Mike) Pompeo go back? Will there be other steps the US takes?” he added.

Moon is scheduled to meet with Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 24, Moon’s spokesman Yoon Young-chan said Wednesday.

“President Moon will be able to relay what was not publicly disclosed to President Trump,” said Yoon, referring to Wednesday's meeting with Kim.

The two Korean leaders also announced Wednesday that Kim would visit Seoul in the near future, which would mark the first trip by a North Korean leader to the city, and that the nations would file a bid to jointly host the 2032 Summer Olympics.

Steps towards joint economic cooperation were also part of the deal, with the countries agreeing to begin reconnecting their road and railway links by the end of the year.

The agreement called for the reopening of the Kaesong Industrial Complex, an inter-Korean joint manufacturing zone that was shuttered in 2016, and for restarting tourism programs to the North’s Mount Kumgang when “conditions are met.”

A separate agreement signed by the two countries’ defense ministers outlined measures to reduce military tensions along the heavily-militarized border that divides the peninsula, including the removal of land mines and guard posts from the Joint Security Area inside the truce village of Panmunjon.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Tuesday that the Trump administration was hoping to see “meaningful, verifiable steps toward the denuclearization of North Korea” emerge from the summit.

Kim has already requested a second summit with Trump, sending him a “very warm, very positive” letter, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said last week. She said the administration was “open to and already in the process of coordinating” the meeting, but no dates have been set.

Moon was scheduled to attend North Korea’s Mass Games following the meeting with Kim on Wednesday, an enormous synchronized music, dance and gymnastics spectacle that is expected to draw 150,000 spectators.

On Thursday - the last day of Moon's visit - the two leaders are scheduled to visit Mount Paektu, a volcano sacred to the North.

Moon’s office said the South Korean leader accepted Kim’s offer to visit the crater lake-topped volcano, which lies at the heart of the mythology used to legitimize the Kim family’s rule in North Korea.

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