Koreas fix date and place for historic summit
- by Kendra Daniels
- in Sport
- — Mar 30, 2018
The North's proposals decades ago are catching attention at a time when the two Koreas are poised to have what will be their third inter-Korean summit in late April to discuss ways to improve their bilateral relations long frayed by the North's continued missile and nuclear provocations.
The North Korean leader paid a surprise visit to Beijing this week to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, with China saying Kim expressed an openness to discussions over his nation's nuclear program.
The planned summit between Moon and Kim will be preceded by performances by South Korean pop singers in North Korea this Sunday and Tuesday.
Analysts say both sides had reason to hold the meeting - Pyongyang to secure Beijing's backing and support, and China to protect its interests in what it considers its backyard.
A joint press statement released by South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles relations with North Korea, said that a working-level meeting between the two countries discussing protocol, security and press coverage for the summit will be held next Wednesday on South Korea's side of Panmunjom, which straddles the border.
Kim also said afterward that with the Korean Peninsula undergoing "unprecedented changes", he paid a swift visit to China "out of good wishes for promoting peace and stability on the peninsula, and carrying on and developing" North Korea-China friendship, according to the official news agency.
The North's delegation is led by Ri Son Gwon, chairman of an agency that deals with inter-Korean affairs.
Senior negotiators met Thursday to discuss the specifics of the historic summit.
The announcement was made on Thursday after preparatory talks in the border village of Panmunjom inside the Demilitarised Zone near the borders between both the countries.
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At a summit with Xi in Beijing on Monday, Kim was quoted by Xinhua News Agency as saying the goal of his visit to China was to "enhance strategic communication and deepen traditional friendship" between the two nations.
There seems to be a spring-like weather in political atmosphere of Korean peninsula.
The president is expected to meet face to face with Kim sometime in May.
The two-day trip by Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi follows talks earlier this week between Kim Jong Un and Xi Jinping.
The government of Kim Jong-un has informed leaders of North Korea's ruling Korean Workers Party of the possibility of summits with Japan, Russia and other countries, the newspaper said, citing an unidentified North Korean source and briefing papers. Trump has repeatedly stated his belief that Kim's apparent eagerness to meet is due to the pressure tactics, notably sanctions, applied by the United States and its allies, and that these tactics must continue, even during the upcoming talks. The meeting led to family reunions until ties soured under conservative President Lee Myung-bak.
Kim Jong-un's visit to Beijing was his first overseas trip since inheriting power after the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, in 2011.
A summit between Kim and President Donald Trump is also anticipated by the end of May.
But a rapid rapprochement on the peninsula was kicked off by the Winter Olympics in the South and events have moved quickly since then, with a flurry of official visits between the two Koreas. The South Korean artists performing in the North include some of the country's most popular pop singers, including Cho Yong-pil, who performed in Pyongyang during a previous era of detente, and girl band Red Velvet.
