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Joint conference still up in air
By Kim Rahn, Kim Bo-eun
President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will meet at 9:30 a.m. Friday at the truce village of Panmunjeom before their first summit, a top presidential aide said, Thursday.
Kim will cross the military demarcation line (MDL) on foot for the summit that will be held at the Peace House in the southern side of the joint security area (JSA), said Im Jong-seok, presidential chief of staff and the head of the inter-Korean summit preparation committee.
It will be the first time for a North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the Korean War (1950-53).
Moon will greet him in front of the MDL, and they will walk together to the welcoming ceremony venue which will include the inspection of a South Korean honor guard.
Im said it has not been decided yet whether North Korean first lady Ri Sol-ju will attend the summit.
"We are hoping she can come in the afternoon and join the welcoming dinner," he said.
The leaders will begin the summit at the Peace House at 10:30 a.m.
They will have lunch separately, on the North and South side of the truce village.
Afterward, as a symbolic event, Moon and Kim will plant a pine tree on the MDL, which symbolizes 65 years of conflict and division.
The leaders will use soil from Mt. Halla in the South and Mt. Baekdu in the North to plant the tree and give it water from the Han River in the South and the Taedong River in the North.
A monument with the phrase "planting peace and prosperity" with the signatures of Moon and Kim inscribed on it will be placed there.
After the leaders conclude their talks, they are set to sign and announce an agreement.
"Where and how the announcement will be made will depend on the content of the agreement," Im said.
This means whether a joint press conference will be hosted after the talks will depend on the content of the agreement. The South had proposed that the joint conference be held.
The summit is expected to focus on the key issues of denuclearization and achieving lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.
"What makes this summit fundamentally different from former agreements is the fact that North Korea has completed developing nuclear weapons including intercontinental ballistic missiles _ this makes the summit more difficult," Im said.
The presidential aide said the preparation committee's role was to specify the agenda, and that it will be up to the leaders to reach an agreement on denuclearization _ to what degree this will be achieved and how this will be recorded in documents.
"What we are hoping for is to put down North Korea's willingness in words on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The summit will be a success if this is achieved," Im said.
"Then the summit would serve as a stepping stone for the North Korea-U.S. summit."
The South will host a welcoming dinner for Kim, attended by Moon and delegates of both sides, at a hall on the third floor of the Peace House. Nine delegates from the North will accompany Kim to the summit, including high-level officials in charge of military and foreign affairs.
Im did not say when Kim will return to the North after the dinner.
