North Korea has agreed to refrain from conducting nuclear and missile tests while engaging in dialogue with South Korea, Seoul’s national security chief Chung Eui-yong said Tuesday after returning from a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Chung added that Pyongyang also expressed willingness to talk to the United States “in an open-ended dialogue to discuss the issue of denuclearization and to normalize relations with North Korea.”
Chung said that as part of the dialogue, the two Koreas would hold a summit next month, the first of its kind in more than a decade.
The last inter-Korean summit was in 2007, when South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun met Kim’s father, late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
The meeting will be held at the Panmunjom Peace House on the South Korean side of the demilitarized zone that divides the two countries, Chung said.
Pyongyang and Seoul will also open a communication hotline that will enable Kim and South korean President Moon Jae-in to speak directly.
Moon sent Chung and four other top government officials to Pyongyang Monday, when they met with Kim and some of his top aides.
It’s believed to be the first time the young North Korean leader has ever met with any officials from South Korea since taking power in 2011.
Developing story – more to come
