South Korean urges North to implement summit agreements
Presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom speaks to reporters at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday. / Yonhap
South Korea's National Security Council (NSC) on Thursday called on North Korea to faithfully implement agreements for denuclearization and peace reached at the recent inter-Korean summit, one day after the communist state abruptly called off a high-level meeting largely aimed at discussing ways to implement the summit agreements.
"Members of the NSC standing committee discussed future steps in regard to North Korea's decision to postpone the high-level South-North dialogue scheduled for May 16. While reaffirming their stance that the Panmunjom Declaration reached at the April 27 South-North Korea summit must be carried out without any disruption, the members agreed to continue consulting with the North side to hold the high-level talks at an early date," the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said.
The NSC meeting, chaired by Chung Eui-yong, the top security adviser to President Moon Jae-in, was held earlier Thursday. Panmunjom is a small border village inside the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone that divides the two Koreas, where Moon held his first-ever meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on April 27.
In the historic summit, the leaders of the divided Koreas agreed to pursue complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and to halt their countries' hostile acts against each other.
Kim is now set to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss on what terms his country will give up its nuclear ambitions.
The South Korean NSC members vowed their support for the U.S.-North Korea summit.
"The standing committee members decided to closely coordinate the countries' positions through various channels between South Korea and the United States and the South and the North so the upcoming North Korea-U.S. summit will be held successfully under the spirit of mutual respect," Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release.
The Trump-Kim meeting is scheduled to be held in Singapore on June. (Yonhap)