Abrar Hussain: In another step towards boosting cooperation between the two rivals, North and South Korea agreed yesterday to hold a summit in the North in September, even as doubts grow over efforts to end the North’s nuclear weapons program.
Officials from both sides met at the neutral Panmunjom village in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas. There they reached an agreement on a September summit, deciding the North’s capital of Pyongyang as the venue. No date has been announced yet for what is expected to be the third meeting this year between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-In.
The two leaders first met in April at Panmunjom, a remarkable thaw in ties after more than a year of rising tension and fears of war over the North’s development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
Although no details on an agenda for next month’s talks were announced, the two Koreas have been discussing a range of issues, from a possible peace declaration to joint economic and infrastructure projects.
The progress between the two rivals comes as North Korea and the United States are struggling to agree on how to bring about the North’s denuclearization, after Kim vowed to work toward that goal at a landmark summit in June in Singapore with US President Donald Trump.
-Source: Reuters