SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in said on Wednesday his planned third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next month would be another step towards the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and an end to the 1950-53 Korean War.

Moon said he hoped for speedy progress in talks between North Korea and the United States to achieve Pyongyang’s complete denuclearization.

He also said he aimed to begin construction of an inter-Korean railway this year, proposing an East Asian railroad community by including the United States, China, Japan, Russia and Mongolia. His remarks were made in a speech marking the 73rd anniversary of the peninsula’s liberation from Japanese rule from 1910-45. </s> The President of the United States Donald Trump reportedly plans to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on February 27-28.

The meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un is planned to take place in Vietnam, Politico reported.

Trump is reportedly expected to formally announce details of his second summit with Kim during his State of the Union address to Congress later on Tuesday night.

Earlier, the US State Department said in a press release that US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun was about to travel to Pyongyang on February 6 for talks to prepare for the second summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un.

The long-standing tensions on the Korean Peninsula started to ease after Kim Jong-un committed to denuclearization of Korean peninsula and held historic summits with US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. </s> SEOUL, May 26 (Reuters) - South Korean President Moon Jae-in met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday to discuss Kim's possible upcoming summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, the South said, the second inter-Korean summit in as many months.

Moon and Kim met just north of the heavily militarised border in the afternoon to exchange views to pave way for a summit between North Korea and the United States, South Korea's presidential office said.

Moon will announce the outcome of his two-hour meeting with Kim on Sunday morning, officials aid. (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Soyoung Kim Editing by Alison Williams) </s> South Korean President Moon Jae-in shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their meeting at the Peace House at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 27, 2018.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in wants to create a Northeast Asian railroad community with North Korea, the United States, China, Japan, Russia and Mongolia, Yonhap News reported on Wednesday.

Speaking at an event marking his country's independence from Japanese rule, Moon said such a "community" could eventually herald the launch of a "multilateral security system" in the region, according to the report.

"This community will lead to an energy bloc and economic bloc in Northeast Asia by expanding our economic area to the northern continent and becoming the foundation of co-existence and prosperity in Northeast Asia," Moon projected, according to Yonhap.

The president's administration will seek to link railways and roads with the North before year-end, Yonhap said.

The initiative is one of many efforts that Seoul is undertaking to strengthen peace in Northeast Asia following June's milestone U.S.-North Korea summit. Since then, the reclusive regime has dismantled some missile engine testing facilities, but many question leader Kim Jong Un's willingness to deliver on the denuclearization promise he made to President Donald Trump.

Moon also called for broad energy and economic cooperation with the North on Wednesday, stressing his goal to politically unify both countries. "True liberation" will only be achieved when the two neighbors establish a lasting peace and economic relations, the head of state was quoted as saying.

The South Korean leader indicated that he will soon visit Pyongyang for a third bilateral summit with Kim. In May, the duo held their official second meeting at the border village of Panmunjom following an earlier summit in April.

For more on Moon's Wednesday speech, see Yonhap's full report. </s> SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean President Moon Jae-in will meet members of North Korea's Olympics delegation on Saturday, including North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister, the Blue House said on Thursday.

Moon will also hold a lunch with the North Korean delegation, his spokesman, Kim Eui-kyeom, told a media briefing. The location has yet to be confirmed, according to a Blue House official who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.

 (This version of the story corrects to clarify location has not been confirmed)

 

 (Reporting by Christine Kim and Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Nick Macfie) </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> SEOUL — South Korean president Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a broad agreement on Wednesday morning in Pyongyang that both said would usher in a new era of peace on the Korean peninsula.

At a news conference held in Pyongyang’s state guesthouse Paekhwawon, President Moon said that North Korea will permanently dismantle its Donchang-ri missile engine test site and launch pad and would allow international inspectors to observe. He added that the North would take the further step of closing its Yongbyon nuclear facility if the United States responded with further concessions.

"The South and the North also discussed denuclearization steps for the first time," Moon said of his talks with Kim in a joint press conference held at the North's state guesthouse Paekhwawon.

The Yonhap News Agency reported Kim Jong Un said he and Moon had agreed to remove all nuclear weapons and threats from the Korean Peninsula.

"The September declaration will open a higher level for the improvement in relations (between the South and the North) ... and bring closer the era of peace and prosperity," Kim was quoted.

The defense ministers of both countries also signed agreements which Seoul said included measures to reduce military tensions on the divided peninsula.

At the conference, which was broadcast live on South Korean television, President Moon said that Kim had agreed to visit Seoul in the near future and that the two Koreas would bid to jointly host the 2032 Summer Olympics. </s> FILE - In this Sept. 19, 2018, file photo, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during a joint press conference with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the Paekhwawon State Guesthouse in Pyongyang, North Korea. South Korea says North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wants Pope Francis to visit North Korea. South Korea’s presidential office in a statement on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018, said Kim told President Moon Jae-in during their summit last month that the pope would be “enthusiastically” welcomed in Pyongyang. (Pyongyang Press Corps Pool via AP, File) </s> South Korean President Moon Jae-In (R) and U.S. President Donald Trump (L) walk towards a guard of honour during a welcoming ceremony at the presidential Blue House on November 7, 2017 in Seoul, South Korea. Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images
• South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Wednesday a three-way summit with North Korea and the United States is possible.
• Moon said talks should aim for an end to the nuclear threat on the Korean peninsula.
• President Donald Trump has said he would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un by the end of May.

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Wednesday a three-way summit with North Korea and the United States is possible and that talks should aim for an end to the nuclear threat on the Korean peninsula.

Moon is planning a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next month after a flurry of diplomatic activity in Asia, Europe and the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump has also said he would meet Kim by the end of May.

"A North Korea-U.S. summit would be a historic event in itself following an inter-Korean summit," Moon said at the presidential Blue House in Seoul after a preparatory meeting for the inter-Korean summit.

"Depending on the location, it could be even more dramatic. And depending on progress, it may lead to a three-way summit between the South, North and the United States," he said.

Seoul officials are considering the border truce village of Panmunjom, where Moon and Kim are set for a one-day meeting, as the venue for talks between not only Kim and Moon but also a possible three-way meeting.

A Blue House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Moon did not specifically refer to Panmunjom or that a three-way summit had been discussed with Washington before the president spoke.

The rush of recent diplomatic contacts began in the lead-up to the Winter Olympics in South Korea last month and helped ease tensions on the Korean peninsula caused by North Korea's pursuit of its nuclear and missile programs in defiance of United Nations Security Council sanctions.

South Korea wants to hold high-level talks with North Korea on March 29 to discuss a date and agenda for the inter-Korean summit and make a formal request to the North on Thursday, Moon's presidential office said.

North and South Korean officials should be able to agree on when the summit between Moon and Kim will take place once the officials from both sides meet this month, the Blue House official said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un greets a member of the special delegation of South Korea's President at a dinner in this photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 6, 2018. KCNA

Moon said the series of summits should aim for a "complete end" to the nuclear and peace issues on the Korean peninsula.

He said he has a "clear goal and vision", which is for the establishment of a lasting peace to replace the ceasefire signed at the end of the 1950-53 Korean war. It also includes the normalization of North Korea-U.S. relations, the development of inter-Korean ties, and economic cooperation involving Pyongyang and Washington, he said.

However, the United States must also add its guarantee in order for peace to come about, Moon said.

"Whether the two Koreas live together or separately, we have to make it in a way that they prosper together and in peace, without interfering or causing damage to each other," Moon said.

The Blue House official said this could mean stopping propaganda broadcasts at the border that are commonly blasted from both sides over loudspeakers. The official could not say whether "interference" also referred to criticism over widely recognized human rights violations in North Korea.

South Korea and the United States will resume joint military drills next month, although the exercises are expected to overlap with the summit between the two Koreas.

Seoul and Washington delayed the annual drills until after the Winter Olympics, helping to foster conditions for a restart of such talks.

North Korea regularly denounces the drills as preparation for war but a South Korean special envoy has said Kim understood that the allies must continue their "routine" exercises. That exchange has not been confirmed.

The North's official KCNA news agency said on Wednesday a "dramatic atmosphere for reconciliation" had been created in cross-border ties and there had also been a sign of change in North Korea-U.S. relations.

That was "thanks to the proactive measure and peace-loving proposal" made by Pyongyang, not Trump's campaign to put maximum pressure on the country, KCNA said in a commentary.

The Blue House official also said earlier on Wednesday South Korea was in discussions with China and Japan for a three-way summit in Tokyo in early May. The three countries have not held such a meeting since November 2015, with relations soured by historical and territorial tensions.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un greets South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Pyongyang for their third summit meeting in 2018, as both countries look to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula.