Two Koreas to hold 3rd inter-Korean summit of 2018 in September
- 6 years ago
We start with the big news out of Monday's high-level inter-Korean talks.
President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will be seeing each other again -- this time in Pyongyang.
However,... we don't know the date yet -- only that it will happen in September
Our Unification Ministry correspondent Oh Jung-hee has our top story.
The next and third inter-Korean summit of this year will be held in September,... though an exact date is not yet set.
Meeting at the border village of Panmunjom on Monday, high-level delegations from Seoul and Pyongyang agreed -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in will be making his way up to the North Korean capital for the summit in September.
"We're holding the summit in Pyongyang, so North Korea's circumstances need to be considered. We agreed the summit needs to take place as soon as possible, but considering North Korea's schedule, we've initially decided to hold it in September and set the date through discussions. Realistically, it can't happen in August."
September is a busy month -- the North Korean regime celebrates the 70th anniversary of its establishment on September 9th.
Also, the UN General Assembly kicks off in New York in the latter half of the month.
It's not clear whether the inter-Korean summit will come before, in between, or after these two events... but the nation's presidential office has ruled out early September... because it could be hard for the regime to prepare for both its anniversary and the summit.
But there seems to be another reason they couldn't agree on a specific date.
Despite a seemingly warm and friendly atmosphere,... North Korea had a sharp warning for South Korea.
"It's very important that we quickly get rid of obstacles that hinder the improvement of inter-Korean relations. That will be crucial to developing our ties and carrying things out according to schedule. If these issues aren't resolved, then some unexpected problems could occur and our plans could face difficulties."
Speculation is that Pyongyang would have brought up the issue of sanctions during the meeting and urged Seoul to get more involved in alleviating them... and chose not to set a date to put pressure on Seoul.
"Overall, the two Koreas agreed that they've been quite successful in implementing the April summit agreement, citing progress in cooperation on railway and road connections, forestation, opening up a joint liason office and holding family reunions.
But Monday's talks were far short of putting an official seal on the summit,... so in terms of results, it's still a bit vague.
Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News.
President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will be seeing each other again -- this time in Pyongyang.
However,... we don't know the date yet -- only that it will happen in September
Our Unification Ministry correspondent Oh Jung-hee has our top story.
The next and third inter-Korean summit of this year will be held in September,... though an exact date is not yet set.
Meeting at the border village of Panmunjom on Monday, high-level delegations from Seoul and Pyongyang agreed -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in will be making his way up to the North Korean capital for the summit in September.
"We're holding the summit in Pyongyang, so North Korea's circumstances need to be considered. We agreed the summit needs to take place as soon as possible, but considering North Korea's schedule, we've initially decided to hold it in September and set the date through discussions. Realistically, it can't happen in August."
September is a busy month -- the North Korean regime celebrates the 70th anniversary of its establishment on September 9th.
Also, the UN General Assembly kicks off in New York in the latter half of the month.
It's not clear whether the inter-Korean summit will come before, in between, or after these two events... but the nation's presidential office has ruled out early September... because it could be hard for the regime to prepare for both its anniversary and the summit.
But there seems to be another reason they couldn't agree on a specific date.
Despite a seemingly warm and friendly atmosphere,... North Korea had a sharp warning for South Korea.
"It's very important that we quickly get rid of obstacles that hinder the improvement of inter-Korean relations. That will be crucial to developing our ties and carrying things out according to schedule. If these issues aren't resolved, then some unexpected problems could occur and our plans could face difficulties."
Speculation is that Pyongyang would have brought up the issue of sanctions during the meeting and urged Seoul to get more involved in alleviating them... and chose not to set a date to put pressure on Seoul.
"Overall, the two Koreas agreed that they've been quite successful in implementing the April summit agreement, citing progress in cooperation on railway and road connections, forestation, opening up a joint liason office and holding family reunions.
But Monday's talks were far short of putting an official seal on the summit,... so in terms of results, it's still a bit vague.
Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News.