SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump agreed with South Korean President Moon Jae-in to revise the two countries’ treaty capping the development of the South’s ballistic missiles as Seoul has hoped to, Moon’s office said on Saturday.

South Korea’s development of its ballistic missiles is limited to range of 800 kilometers (500 miles) and payload weight of 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) under a bilateral treaty revised in 2012.

The two leaders discussed the issue as a way to boost the South’s defense against growing threat from North in a telephone call, South Korea’s Blue House said. </s> (CNN) South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump have agreed "in principle" to revise a bilateral treaty that limits the weight and range of the South's ballistic missiles.

"President Moon and President Trump reaffirmed their view that it is important to apply maximum sanctions and pressure on North Korea so that it refrains from making provocations and comes out to the dialogue table to peacefully resolve its nuclear issue," Blue House spokesman Park Soo-hyun said in a written statement.

According to the statement, the two leaders also agreed "in principle on the revision of the missile guidelines."

"Sharing the view that South Korea needs to bolster its defense capabilities to counter North Korea's provocations and threats, the two leaders agreed in principle to revise the missile guidelines to a level that the South Korean side desires," the spokesman's statement said, but did not provide further details about what the revision would entail.

Under the bilateral pact last revised in 2012, South Korea is allowed to develop ballistic missiles with a range of up to 800 kilometers (500 miles) and a payload weight of up to 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds).

The White House said Trump gave Moon his "conceptual approval" for the planned purchase by the South of billions of dollars of US military equipment.

"President Trump provided his conceptual approval of planned purchases by South Korea of billions of dollars in American military equipment," the White House said in a statement after the phone call.

Carl Schuster, a former director of operations at the US Pacific Command's Joint Intelligence Center, told CNN that revising the bilateral treaty would give the South Koreans a more independent deterrent capability, which they have wanted for the past several years.

"The reason they want it, I think, is they want to be able to either respond to North Korean provocation or they want North Korea to be aware that they have the capability to respond if North Korea goes too far," said Schuster, now a Hawaii Pacific University professor.

"To an extent it's as much a political as an operational development that's important to South Korean self-confidence."

While Moon has sought to be "more accommodating" to North Korea than his predecessor and looked for nonmilitary ways to resolve the situation, Schuster said, North Korea's recent actions have undermined his confidence and public confidence in his policies.

They have also alarmed South Korea's allies in the region and around the world.

From South Korea's perspective, Schuster said, allowing it more powerful weaponry signals to North Korea that Seoul will not necessarily be constrained by the United States and that it has an independent ability to react -- something that North Korea would have to factor into its own calculations.

The shift in tack could reflect US President Donald Trump's belief that it's time to try something new and his desire for China to do more to rein in North Korea, Schuster said.

In the 1990s, US policymakers were keen to constrain the offensive capabilities of countries in northern Asia because it was believed this would dissuade North Korea from increasing its own defensive capabilities, Schuster said. However, this approach clearly hasn't worked.

Allowing South Korea to have longer range missiles could put pressure on China to exert influence over North Korea, Schuster said, because the Chinese will see that as creating a potential threat to them too.

Meanwhile, new commentary published Friday in the Rodong Sinmun newspaper, the official mouthpiece of North Korea's ruling Workers Party of Korea, called on the United States to recognize North Korea as a nuclear power if it wants future diplomatic efforts to make headway.

"The situation is turning unfavorable for the U.S. day by day. There is no proper way out. The U.S. should make a switchover in its policy on the basis of recognizing the fundamentally changed DPRK strategic position and geographical influence," it said.

"As the U.S. escalates the confrontation with the DPRK and wastes time to find out a solution, the striking capabilities of the DPRK's strategic forces which put the whole U.S. mainland in their strike range will rapidly increase." </s> SEOUL — U.S. President Donald Trump agreed with South Korean President Moon Jae-in to revise a joint treaty capping the development of the South's ballistic missiles, Moon's office said on Saturday, amid a standoff over North Korea's missile and nuclear tests.

Trump also gave "conceptual" approval to the purchase by the South of billions of dollars of U.S. military hardware, the White House said.

The South wants to raise the missile cap to boost its defenses against the reclusive North, which is pursuing missile and nuclear weapons programs in defiance of international warnings and UN sanctions.

"The two leaders agreed to the principle of revising the missile guideline to a level desired by South Korea, sharing the view that it was necessary to strengthen South Korea's defense capabilities in response to North Korea's provocations and threats," South Korea's presidential Blue House said.

Impoverished North Korea and the rich, democratic South are technically still at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. The North regularly threatens to destroy the South and its main ally, the United States.

North Korea sharply raised regional tension this week with the launch of its Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile that flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific.

That followed the test launch of two long-range ballistic missiles in July in a sharply lofted trajectory that demonstrated a potential range of 6,000 miles or more that would put many parts of the U.S. mainland within striking distance.

North Korea has been working to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the United States and has recently threatened to land missiles near the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam.

South Korea's development of its ballistic missiles is limited to range of 500 miles and payload weight of 1,100 pounds under a bilateral treaty revised in 2012.

South Korea has said it wants to revise the agreement to increase the cap on the payload.

The two countries agreed to the cap as part of a commitment to a voluntary international arms-control pact known as the Missile Technology Control Regime, aimed at limiting the proliferation missiles and nuclear weapons.

The two leaders pledged to continue to apply strong diplomatic and economic pressure on North Korea and to make all necessary preparations to defend against the growing threat by the North, the White House said.

The White House did not mention the voluntary bilateral agreement but said the two leaders agreed to strengthen their defense cooperation and South Korea's defense capabilities.

Trump "provided his conceptual approval of planned purchases by South Korea of billions of dollars in American military equipment", the White House said.

Trump, who has warned that the U.S. military is "locked and loaded" in case of further North Korean provocation, reacted angrily to the latest missile test, declaring on Twitter that "talking is not the answer" to resolving the crisis.

North Korea defends its weapons programs as necessary to counter perceived U.S. aggression, such as recent air maneuvers with South Korean and Japanese jets. </s> The United States and South Korea agreed Friday to strengthen Seoul's defenses and Washington gave a nod to billions in arms sales to the country, the White House said, days after North Korea fired a missile over Japan and threatened further launches.

In Seoul, the presidential Blue House spokesman confirmed that U.S. President Donald Trump and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in agreed to enhance the country's deterrence against North Korea by boosting its missile capabilities.

Pyongyang fired an intermediate-range Hwasong-12 over Japan early on Tuesday, which it said was a mere "curtain-raiser" for the North's "resolute countermeasures" against ongoing U.S.-South Korean military drills.

It came as U.S. and South Korean forces were nearing the end of the 10-day annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian joint exercises, which the North regards as a rehearsal for invasion.

Trump has insisted that "all options" are on the table in an implied threat of pre-emptive military action, while on Thursday U.S. heavy bombers and stealth jet fighters took part in a joint live fire drill in South Korea intended as a show of force.

Trump and Moon spoke on the phone Friday about North Korea's "continued destabilizing and escalating behavior," the White House said in a statement.

"The two leaders agreed to strengthen our alliance through defense cooperation and to strengthen South Korea's defense capabilities.

"President Trump provided his conceptual approval of planned purchases by South Korea of billions of dollars in American military equipment."

Park Soo-hyun, the spokesman for Seoul's presidential office, said the leaders had reached an agreement in principle to loosen -- "to the extent hoped by the South Korean side" -- limits on the South's ballistic missile capability.

Under a bilateral agreement with the United States, Seoul is currently restricted to ballistic missiles with a maximum range of 500 miles and payload of 1,100 pounds.

The South wants the maximum warhead weight doubled to one ton, and the Pentagon has said it was "actively" considering the revision.

Signed with the U.S. in 2001 -- the year South Korea joined the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) -- the agreement initially limited Seoul to rockets with a range of about 200 miles, due to U.S. concerns about triggering a regional arms race in Northeast Asia.

However, after a long-range rocket test by North Korea in 2012, Seoul managed to negotiate the near three-fold increase in the range limit to 500 miles, putting North Korean military facilities that were previously out of range within reach, as well as parts of China and Japan.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest point in years after a series of missile tests by Pyongyang.

Calls are also mounting in South Korea for Seoul to build nuclear weapons of its own to defend itself, as nuclear-armed North Korea's missile stand-off with the U.S. escalates.

The South, which hosts 28,500 U.S. troops to defend it, is banned from building its own nuclear weapons under a 1974 atomic energy deal it signed with Washington, which instead offers a "nuclear umbrella" against potential attacks.

Park said the two leaders reaffirmed the need to bring Pyongyang back to dialogue by applying maximum sanctions and pressure.

However, Trump said after the latest missile test that negotiations with Pyongyang were "not the answer." </s> WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - US President Donald Trump spoke with South Korean President Moon Jae In on Friday (Sept 1) and the two leaders pledged to continue to apply strong diplomatic and economic pressure on North Korea, the White House said in a statement.

It also said Trump "provided his conceptual approval of planned purchases by South Korea of billions of dollars in American military equipment." </s> The US and South Korea have agreed to increase Seoul’s missile capabilities just days after North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan and threatened further launches, Seoul’s Yonhap news agency reported.

The reclusive state fired an intermediate-range Hwasong-12 over Japan early on Tuesday, which it said was a mere “curtain-raiser” for the North’s “resolute countermeasures” against ongoing US-South Korean military drills.

It came as the US and South Korean forces were nearing the end of the 10-day annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian joint exercises, which the North regards as a rehearsal for invasion.

US President Donald Trump later insisted that “all options” were on the table in an implied threat of pre-emptive military action, while on Thursday US heavy bombers and stealth jet fighters took part in a joint live fire drill in South Korea intended as a show of force.

In phone call on Friday, Trump and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in agreed to enhance Seoul’s deterrence against North Korea by boosting its missile capabilities, Yonhap reported, citing Seoul’s presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae.

“The two leaders noted the need to strengthen the Republic of Korea’s defence capabilities to counter provocations and threats from North Korea, and reached an agreement in principle to revise the ‘missile guideline’ to the extent hoped by the South Korean side,” Yonhap quoted Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Soo-hyun as saying.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest point in years after a series of missile tests by Pyongyang.

South Korean President Moon Jae-In has previously urged limits on Seoul’s missiles to be loosened in a conversation with Trump.

Seoul is currently allowed to possess ballistic missiles with a range of 800 km and payload of 500 kg, but it wants the weight limit raised to 1,000 kg.

The Pentagon had said it was “actively” considering the revision.

Calls are also mounting in the South for Seoul to build nuclear weapons of its own to defend itself as nuclear-armed North Korea’s missile stand-off with the US escalates.

The South, which hosts 28,500 US troops to defend it, is banned from building its own nuclear weapons under a 1974 atomic energy deal it signed with Washington, which instead offers a “nuclear umbrella” against potential attacks.

Yonhap added that the two leaders reaffirmed the need to bring Pyonyang back to the dialogue table by applying maximum sanctions and pressure.

However, Trump said after the latest missile test that negotiations with Pyongyang were “not the answer”. </s> The Korean leaders have agreed on a process to complete denuclearise the Korean peninsula.

The Korean leaders have agreed on a process to complete denuclearise the Korean peninsula.

THE KOREAN leaders have agreed on a process to completely denuclearise the Korean peninsula.

South Korean president Moon Jae-in says the two leaders have reached a conclusion on a range of measures designed to bring an end to simmering tensions.

 He said North Korea will close its Tongchang-ri missile testing site following the ongoing three-day summit in Pyongyang.

"The North agreed to permanently close the Tongchang-ri missile engine test site and missile launch facility in the presence of experts from relevant nations," Mr Moon told reporters.

He also said the North had agreed to permanently dismantle its main Nyongban nuclear complex if the United States takes corresponding measures.

The two countries have also reportedly agreed to jointly host the 2032 Summer Olympics.



 The pair spoke at a new conference after signing a joint statement.

The defense chiefs of the two Koreas also signed their agreements that Seoul says are about reducing military tensions along the border.

Today marked the leaders' second day of summit talks in the North Korean capital.

They were accompanied by their wives and top government officials, including Moon's national security adviser Chung Eui-yong and Kim's sister, Kim Yo Jong, who is seen as one of the hermit nation's most popular figures in the regime.

Before their meeting, Mr Moon attended a performance of North Korea's iconicm ass games.

South Korean media pool reports said Mr Kim thanked Mr Moon for brokering his Singapore summit with US president Donald Trump in June, which he credited with bringing stability to the region.

Mr Moon is expected to depart back to Seoul tomorrow. </s> The announcement comes after the brutal regime of young despot Kim Jong-un fired yet another missile on Tuesday which crossed Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido in the boldest show of force from the DPRK in recent years. President Trump agreed with South Korean President Moon Jae-in to revise a joint treaty capping the development of the South's ballistic missiles, Seoul has confirmed. According to the White House, during the conversation Trump also gave "conceptual" approval to the purchase by the South of billions of dollars of US military hardware. A spokesperson from Prime Minister Moon’s office said: "The two leaders agreed to the principle of revising the missile guideline to a level desired by South Korea, sharing the view that it was necessary to strengthen South Korea's defence capabilities in response to North Korea's provocations and threats.”

US Pacific Command (PACOM) chief Admiral Harry Harris had made a similar promise during a meeting with South Korean Defence Minister Song Young-moo, as part of Mr Song’s five-day visit to the US. The Ministry of National Defence said: "The US commander reaffirmed Washington's ironclad commitment to defending South Korea in the face of North Korea's threats. "He said PACOM will closely consult with the South Korean government and the Joint Chiefs of Staff over all military options that can be considered." PACOM is in charge of commanding US forces' military operations in the Asia-Pacific region, which includes the Korean Peninsula.

Kim has sparked fury throughout the world this year by ramping up his missile programme and continuing to threaten the United States. Donald Trump brought tensions with North Korea to a new height as he outright threatened "fire and fury" against Pyongyang. The US President also has grown frustrated with China, Kim's closest ally, for its failure to rein in the despot's missile tests. The White House has said that North Korea “poses a grave and growing direct threat to the United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, as well as to countries around the world”.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also earlier this week insisted Washington will continue to seek a peaceful resolution to the North Korea crisis. He told Fox News: "We do view [the missile tests] as a provocative act against the United States and our allies. "We're going to continue our peaceful pressure campaign, working with allies, working with China as well to see if we can bring the regime in Pyongyang to the negotiating table." The United States is technically still at war with the North because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. The North says it will never give up its weapons programmes, saying they are necessary to counter hostility from the United States and its allies. </s> SEOUL: South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announced a sweeping set of agreements after their second day of talks in Pyongyang on Wednesday that included a promise by Kim to permanently dismantle the North's main nuclear complex if the United States takes corresponding measures, the acceptance of international inspectors to monitor the closing of a key missile test site and launch pad and a vow to work together to host the Summer Olympics in 2032.

Declaring they had made a major step toward peace on the Korean Peninsula, the two leaders were side by side as they announced the joint statement to a group of North and South Korean reporters after a closed-door meeting Wednesday morning.

"We have agreed to make the Korean Peninsula a land of peace that is free from nuclear weapons and nuclear threat," Kim said as he stood by Moon's side at the guesthouse where Moon is staying. "The road to our future will not always be smooth and we may face challenges and trials we can't anticipate. But we aren't afraid of headwinds because our strength will grow as we overcome each trial based on the strength of our nation."

ALSO READ | Korean Summit: Moon Jae-in hopes to bolster legacy of former President Roh Moo-hyun

Kim and Moon earlier smiled and chatted as they walked down a hallway and into a meeting room to finalize the joint statement, which also said that the leaders would push for a Korean Peninsula without nuclear weapons and to "eliminate all the danger of war." They agreed that Kim would visit the South in the near future.

The statement caps off the third summit between Kim and Moon, who is under increasing pressure from Washington to find a path forward in its efforts to get Kim to completely — and unilaterally — abandon his nuclear arsenal.

But while containing several tantalizing offers, it appears to fall short of the major steps many in Washington had been looking for — such as a commitment by Pyongyang to provide a list of the North's nuclear facilities, a solid step-by-step timeline or an agreement to allow international inspectors in to assess progress or discover violations.

The question is whether it will be enough for President Donald Trump to pick up where Moon has left off.

Trump has maintained that he and Kim have a solid relationship, and both leaders have expressed interest in a follow-up summit to their meeting in June in Singapore. North Korea has been demanding a declaration formally ending the Korean War, which was stopped in 1953 by a cease-fire, but neither leader mentioned it as they read the joint statement.

In the meantime, however, Moon and Kim made concrete moves of their own to reduce tensions on their border.

According a joint statement signed by the countries' defense chiefs, the two Koreas agreed to establish buffer zones along their land and sea borders to reduce military tensions and prevent accidental clashes. They also agreed to withdraw 11 guard posts from the Demilitarized Zone by December and to establish a no-fly zone above the military demarcation line that bisects the two Koreas that will apply to planes, helicopters and drones.

Though not directly linked to security, the leaders' announcement that they would seek a joint Summer Olympics was a significant move in terms of easing tensions and building trust. It also flows from the North's decision to participate in the Pyeongchang Winter Games in February, which was regarded as a success for both sides.

Other agreements aimed at removing some longstanding irritants from their relations — such as allowing more contact between families divided by the Korean War. Moon also appeared to be making good on his proposals to help build up the North's infrastructure and open cross-border rail links.

Unlike Trump's initial tweets praising the summit, the news brought a quick and negative response from Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who tweeted he was concerned the visit would undermine efforts by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley to impose "maximum pressure" on Pyongyang.

"While North Korea has stopped testing missiles and nuclear devices, they have NOT moved toward denuclearization," he tweeted.

With the main business of the day over, North Korea was expected to hold a huge mass games spectacle in the evening, with Moon as the special guest.

The North had put the iconic games, which feature tens of thousands of performers dancing and flipping placards in unison to create giant mosaics and slogans, on a back burner for the past several years, but revived them for this month's celebrations of its 70th founding anniversary. In a performance for the anniversary, a giant photo of Moon and Kim shaking hands at their first summit in April was projected onto one side of the stands in Pyongyang's 150,000-seat May Day Stadium.

Kim has gone all out to make Moon's visit a memorable one.

On Tuesday, the first day of the summit, he greeted Moon and his wife at Pyongyang's airport and then rode into town with Moon in an open limousine through streets lined with crowds of North Koreans, who cheered and waved the flag of their country and a blue-and-white flag that symbolizes Korean unity.

The summit talks began at the ruling Workers' Party headquarters where Kim and Moon were joined by two of their top deputies — spy chief Suh Hoon and presidential security director Chung Eui-yong for Moon, and for Kim, his sister, Kim Yo Jong, and senior Workers' Party official Kim Yong Chol, according to Moon's office.

At the start of their meeting Tuesday, Kim thanked Moon for brokering the June summit with Trump.

"It's not too much to say that it's Moon's efforts that arranged a historic North Korea-U.S. summit. Because of that, the regional political situation has been stabilized and more progress on North Korea-U.S. ties is expected," Kim said, according to South Korean media pool reports and Moon's office.

Moon responded by expressing his own thanks to Kim for making a "bold decision" in a New Year's speech to open a new era of detente and send a delegation to the South Korean Winter Olympics in February.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump agree to revise the South Korea Ballistic Missile Range Guidelines which caps South Korea's missile development.