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| Chung Eui-yong, South Korea's chief presidential security advisor, speaks during the opening ceremony of the Seoul Defense Dialogue, an annual security event hosted by the defense ministry, Thursday. / Yonhap |
By Park Ji-won
South Korea's chief presidential security adviser said Thursday that the two Koreas will discuss specific measures to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula during the third inter-Korean summit which is planned to be held next week.
During a keynote speech at an annual security forum hosted by the defense ministry, Chung Eui-yong said "the government is preparing for the Pyongyang summit which is slated to be held from Sept. 18 to 20 so that the two Koreas can create a breakthrough to build the Korean peace process and give impetus to the North-U.S. talks and denuclearization."
Discussing his trip to the North recently, he said "in this upcoming meeting, the two leaders will have more detailed talks in seeking denuclearization." Chung's delegation visited North Korea recently to set a time to hold the third summit and met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
"Things had been difficult recently in the process of denuclearization consultations between the North and the U.S. It is an important time to revive the virtuous circle."
The third summit between President Moon Jae-in and Kim was arranged amid an impasse in U.S.-North Korea negotiations and denuclearization talks, likely due to their differences about the details of the denuclearization process.
Reiterating Kim's willingness for denuclearization and cooperative attitude with the South and the U.S., Chung also revealed that the North Korean leader set the time to complete denuclearization by the end of U.S. President Donald Trump's first presidency.
"It is the first time for the North Korean leader to directly mention a timeline for denuclearization," Chung added.
Meanwhile, Chung revealed that along with ending hostile acts on land, sea and air, the two Koreas are having concrete discussions to create a peace zone in the West Sea as part of efforts to prevent armed conflict and ensure the safety of fishing boats.
Regarding that Chung also noted the two Koreas are pushing for finishing the discussion of comprehensive cooperation in the field of defense by next week and coming up with an agreement to build bilateral trust and prevent armed conflict.
In order to accomplish this, Chung urged for international support and cooperation between South Korea and the U.S.
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