In this April 15, 2017, file photo, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves during a military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs have without doubt come at a severe cost. Even so, the North has managed to march ever closer to having an arsenal capable of attacking targets in the region and _ as demonstrated by its July 4 ICBM test launch _ the United States’ mainland. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)
North and South Korea are apparently going to agree to bring an end to the decades-long military conflict on the Korean Peninsula, a South Korean newspaper reported Tuesday.
The leaders of North and South Korea – Kim Jong Un and President Moon Jae-in, respectively – are slated to meet next week, in advance of the tri-nation summit with President Donald Trump sometime before May.
It was reported that the two nations are going to officially put an end to the Korean military conflict, which technically lasted from 1950 to 1953 but was ended with a truce, not a peace treaty, according to the South Korean newspaper Munhwa Ilbo, which cited an unnamed South Korean official.
The two nations could also discuss the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separates them, and possibly return it to its original state, the newspaper reported.
It was recently announced that North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un agreed to meet at a summit with President Trump, and that North Korea is also willing to talk denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
While the date and location of the three-way summit have not been announced, the North-South Korean meeting is set for April 27.
Chinese state media also recently confirmed that Kim traveled and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, in an unprecedented first visit outside his home country since becoming supreme leader in 2011.
The North Korea-China meeting came ahead of the meeting with South Korea, which is said to prepare for the three-nation meeting with the United States, North and South Korea sometime before May.
Trump had accepted an invitation from Kim on behalf of South Korean delegates to the U.S. in March. The White House later confirmed that President Trump and Kim would meet “sometime” before May, on the invitation of Kim himself.
The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) issued commentary about two weeks after the invitation and finally hinted at a confirmation for the upcoming meeting of North Korea, the U.S. and South Korea.
A possible meeting between the nations was originally the product of South Korea’s efforts in February during the Winter Olympics.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in first invited North Korea to a summit in April in the DMZ.
Kim then invited President Trump, through a South Korean envoy, to a future meeting.
While many U.S. officials are skeptical about North Korea following through with any formal meeting, supporters of diplomacy say that even the prospect of talks is an encouraging change.
For the better part of last year, North Korea continued to defy international officials’ pleas to cease countless nuclear missile and bomb tests, even going so far as to threaten the U.S. territory of Guam after fierce words from Trump demanding a halt to their increased military activity and bomb testing.
South Korea has stated that denuclearization could be a topic of discussion during the formal meeting of the nations. But while North Korea seems to have at least paused its nuclear activity for the time being, the rogue nation has not confirmed any sort of agenda for the meeting at this point, and giving up their prized nuclear weapons indefinitely be an unexpected result.
Trump confirms CIA head Pompeo went to North Korea to meet Kim Jong Un, says it went 'very smoothly'
- President Donald Trump on Wednesday confirmed that Mike Pompeo, the CIA director who is awaiting confirmation as secretary of state, met Kim Jong Un in North Korea earlier this month.
- It was the highest-level contact between US and North Korean officials in 18 years.
- Trump said the two men interacted "very smoothly" and formed a "good relationship."
- The meeting is remarkable given that only a year ago North Korean propaganda accused the CIA of plotting to kill Kim.
President Donald Trump has confirmed that Mike Pompeo, the CIA director who is awaiting confirmation as secretary of state, met with Kim Jong Un in North Korea earlier this month.
Trump said the two men interacted "very smoothly" and formed a "good relationship."
The talks are the highest-level meetings between US and North Korean officials since Madeleine Albright, then secretary of state, met Kim Jong Il in 2000.
"Mike Pompeo met with Kim Jong Un in North Korea last week," Trump tweeted Wednesday morning. "Meeting went very smoothly and a good relationship was formed. Details of Summit are being worked out now. Denuclearization will be a great thing for World, but also for North Korea!"
The meeting was remarkable given that only one year ago North Korean propaganda accused the CIA of plotting to kill Kim.
Pompeo's trip, which reports out Tuesday night said happened over the Easter weekend, an apparent conflict with Trump's announcement, had been kept quiet as the US and North Korea deliberate on how best to coordinate a planned summer meeting between Trump and Kim.
The news of Pompeo's secret trip comes after South Korea confirmed that its officials were in talks to end the 68-year war on the Korean Peninsula with a peace deal, something to which Trump has given his blessing.
Any peace deal, however, would require Chinese and UN approval as well, since both are signatories to the 1953 armistice that paused, rather than ended, the war between North Korea and South Korea.
Other reports indicate that Trump has a plan to disarm North Korea of nuclear weapons by 2020. Experts, however remain deeply skeptical of Kim's intentions.
