Moon to arrive in Pyongyang at 10 am Tuesday

Presidential chief of staff Lim Jong-seok speaks during a media conference at the press center in Seoul, Monday, ahead of the intern-Korean summit scheduled to be held on Tuesday and Wednesday. Yonhap

Denuclearization put on agenda for Moon-Kim talks

By Kim Bo-eun

Leaders of the two Koreas may reach an agreement on easing military tension at their summit that begins Tuesday, presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok said Monday.

Easing military tension is among the three main items on the agenda for the third meeting between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Im said in a media briefing on the summit at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul. Im is also chief of the summit preparation committee.

Moon will head for Pyongyang for a three-day summit, departing from Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, at 8:40 a.m. Tuesday and arriving at Sunan International Airport in Pyongyang at around 10:00 a.m.

The preparation committee chief said the North Korean leader may greet Moon at the airport, as an official welcoming event is scheduled to take place there.

The leaders will hold their first meeting after a luncheon. First lady Kim Jung-sook will visit a children's hospital and music college. Moon's special delegates will meet with the North Korean head of parliament Kim Yong-nam, and business executives will meet with a vice premier of North Korea's Cabinet. Moon and his delegates will watch a welcoming performance and attend a dinner reception the same day. The second meeting between Moon and Kim will take place Wednesday morning.

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Im added there is the possibility talks may continue Wednesday afternoon.

The other two priorities are on developing inter-Korean relations and facilitating denuclearization talks between North Korea and the United States. The issue of separated family members is also set to be discussed.

The leaders will check how far the Koreas have come on implementing the Panmunjeom Declaration reached at their first summit, April 27, Im said.

"Based on the progress made so far, the leaders will discuss specific and sustainable means to take things further," he said.

Moon and Kim will also discuss the resumption of talks between Pyongyang and Washington for the North to show progress in its moves toward denuclearization, and on reciprocal measures from the U.S.

While Moon is set to return to Seoul Thursday morning, he could stay in Pyongyang longer.

Cheong Wa Dae said the President is hoping to dine at a restaurant where North Koreans commonly eat for his final dinner Wednesday. The presidential office made this request in advance, Im said.

He noted that the third summit is significant in that it signals that meetings between the leaders of the South and North have become normalized.

After their first meeting at the truce village of Panmunjeom in April, the second took place in secret at the same venue in May.

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