SEOUL (Reuters) - North and South Korea will hold their first summit in more than a decade in late April, the South’s presidential office said on Tuesday after a senior delegation returned from a visit to the North where they met leader Kim Jong Un.

North Korea said there was no need to keep its nuclear programme as long as there was no military threat against it and the safety of its regime was secured, the head of the delegation, Chung Eui-yong, told a media briefing.

North Korea also said it was open to talking with the United States regarding denuclearisation and normalising ties, Chung added.</s>North and South Korea have agreed to hold a summit at their heavily armed border next month, with Pyongyang saying it would consider abandoning nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees, Seoul said Tuesday.

If confirmed by Pyongyang, the offer would mark the first time under the current leadership the North had declared itself willing to discuss conditions under which it might consider giving up its nuclear arsenal -– a move it has previously insisted was firmly off the negotiating table.

Following a meeting in Pyongyang with leader Kim Jong Un, Chung Eui-yong, the national security adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, said the North had stated there was “no reason” to hold on to its nuclear weapons “if military threats towards the North are cleared and the security of its regime is guaranteed”.

Chung said Kim and Moon would meet in late April at the fortified border village of Panmunjom for what would be only the third inter-Korean summit since the end of the 1950-53 Korean conflict.

He said the two sides would establish a leader-to-leader hotline, offering the highest-level contact between two nations that are technically still at war.

After months of soaring tensions that have seen Kim Jong Un trade insults and threats with US President Donald Trump, temperatures cooled dramatically as South Korea hosted the Winter Olympics.

Despite having few athletes competing at the Games, Pyongyang sent a large and colourful delegation, which included Kim’s sister, who met with Moon to offer a summit meeting.

That visit was returned this week when Moon sent the highest-level delegation in a decade north of the border.

The envoys returned Tuesday with news of apparent breakthroughs in the long-logjammed relationship.

“The South and the North agreed to hold the third summit at… Panmunjom in late April,” said Chung, referring to the truce village at the heavily-fortified border.

If realised, the summit will be the third meeting between the leaders of the two Koreas, which technically remain at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice instead of a peace treaty.

The previous two summits were held in 2000 and 2007, respectively, under South Korean presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun who both advocated dialogue with Pyongyang.

They both met with Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il.

The two Koreas also agreed to open communication hotline between Moon and Kim to “defuse military tension and to have close coordination,” Chung said Tuesday.

The leaders will have their first phone conversation before the planned summit, he added.

North Korea also pledged that it would freeze its nuclear and missile testing programme during the period of dialogue.</s>SEOUL (Reuters) - North and South Korea will hold their first summit in more than a decade in late April, the South’s presidential office said on Tuesday after a senior delegation returned from a visit to the North where they met leader Kim Jong Un.

North Korea said there was no need to keep its nuclear programme as long as there was no military threat against it and the safety of its regime was secured, the head of the delegation, Chung Eui-yong, told a media briefing.

North Korea also said it was open to talking with the United States regarding denuclearisation and normalising ties, Chung added.</s>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</s>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</s>North and South Korea have agreed to hold summit talks next month, according to officials in Seoul.

South Korea's presidential office also said the countries have agreed to set up a telephone hotline between their leaders.

South Korea's presidential national security director, Chung Eui-yong, said Pyongyang has also made it clear it would not need to keep its nuclear weapons if military threats against the country were resolved and it received a credible security guarantee.

The comments came hours after a South Korean delegation led by Chung returned from a visit to the North, where they met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.</s>North and South Korea will hold a summit for the first time in more than a decade in April, South Korea’s national security chief Chung Eui-yong said Tuesday after returning from a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Chung said the summit would be held in the demilitarized zone that divides the two Koreas and the two leaders would open a communication hotline.

Chung said North Korea 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.”

South Korean President Moon Jae-in 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 leader has ever met with any officials from South Korea since taking power in 2011.</s>North and South Korea will hold a summit at their heavily armed border next month, Seoul’s envoy said Tuesday after meeting with Kim Jong Un on a trip to Pyongyang.

“The South and the North agreed to hold the third summit at... Panmunjom in late April,” said Chung Eui-yong, the national security adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-In, referring to the truce village at the heavily-fortified border.

If realised, the summit will be the third meeting between the leaders of the two Koreas, which technically remain at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice instead of a peace treaty.

The previous two summits were held in 2000 and 2007, respectively, under South Korean presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun who both advocated dialogue with Pyongyang.

They both met with Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il.

The two Koreas also agreed to open communication hotline between Moon and Kim to “defuse military tension and to have close coordination,” Chung said Tuesday.

The two leaders will have their first phone conversation before the planned summit, he added.

North Korea also pledged that it would freeze its nuclear and missile testing programme during the period of dialogue.</s>A South Korean official says North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has agreed to hold a landmark summit meeting with South Korea's president next month and impose a moratorium on nuclear and missile tests if his country holds talks with the United States.

 

South Korean presidential national security director Chung Eui-yong said the two Koreas agreed to hold their third-ever summit at a tense border village in late April. He also said the leaders will establish a "hotline" communication channel to lower military tensions, and speak together before the planned summit.

 

Chung led a 10-member South Korean delegation that met with Kim during a two-day visit to Pyongyang, North Korea's capital. The delegation returned on Tuesday.</s>SEOUL, March 6 (Reuters) - North and South Korea will hold their first summit in more than a decade in late April, the South’s presidential office said on Tuesday after a senior delegation returned from a visit to the North where they met leader Kim Jong Un.

North Korea said there was no need to keep its nuclear programme as long as there was no military threat against it and the safety of its regime was secured, the head of the delegation, Chung Eui-yong, told a media briefing.

North Korea also said it was open to talking with the United States regarding denuclearisation and normalising ties, Chung added. (Reporting by Christine Kim; Editing by Nick Macfie)
South Korea and North Korea agree to hold a summit in April 2018.