SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said it would permanently abolish its key missile facilities in the presence of foreign experts, the latest gesture by leader Kim Jong Un to revive faltering talks with Washington over his country’s nuclear program.

Speaking at a joint news conference in Pyongyang on Wednesday, Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in said they agreed to turn the Korean peninsula into a “land of peace without nuclear weapons and nuclear threats”.

North Korea was also willing to close its main nuclear complex if the United States took unspecified “reciprocal action”, they added.

The pledges Kim and Moon made at their third summit this year could inject fresh momentum into the stalled nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang and lay the groundwork for another meeting Kim recently proposed to U.S. President Donald Trump.

Kim pledged to work toward the “complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula” during his two meetings with Moon earlier this year and at his historic June summit with Trump in Singapore.

But discussions over how to implement the vague commitments have since faltered. Washington is demanding concrete action towards denuclearization before agreeing to key goals of Pyongyang - declaring an official end to the 1950-53 Korean War and easing tough international sanctions.

“Kim Jong Un has agreed to allow Nuclear inspections, subject to final negotiations, and to permanently dismantle a test site and launch pad in the presence of international experts. In the meantime there will be no Rocket or Nuclear testing,” Trump wrote on Twitter.

Kim said he will visit Seoul in the near future, in what would be the first-ever visit to the South’s capital by a North Korean leader. Moon said the visit was expected to take place by the end of the year.

The latest pledges by Kim come days before Moon meets with Trump in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly next week. Seoul officials hope Moon will be able to convince Trump to restart nuclear talks with Pyongyang, after he canceled a trip by his secretary of state to Pyongyang last month, citing lack of progress.

Though North Korea has unilaterally stopped nuclear and missile tests, it did not allow international inspections for a dismantlement of its only known nuclear test site in May, drawing criticism that its action was for show and could be easily reversed.

As a next step, North Korea will allow experts from “concerned countries” to watch the closure of its missile engine testing site and launch pad in the northwestern town of Dongchang-ri, according to a joint statement signed by Moon and Kim. The facilities were a key test center for its intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to reach the United States.

The North also “expressed its readiness” to take additional measures, such as a permanent dismantlement of its main nuclear facilities in Yongbyon should there be unspecified corresponding action from the United States.

Those U.S. steps could include an end-of-war declaration, South Korea’s national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, told reporters.

North Korea has consistently refused to give up its nuclear arsenal unilaterally, and stressed that a formal declaration to end the 1950-53 Korean War should come first.

“I don’t think President Moon got everything he was seeking, but Kim gave Moon some tangible things for which he can take credit and some forward progress in terms of beginning a more substantive discussion and increased activity focused on denuclearization,” said Michael Madden, an analyst at the Stimson Centre’s 38 North in Washington.

Satellite images and other evidence in recent months have suggested North Korea is continuing to work on its nuclear program clandestinely.

The United States has so far failed to convince Pyongyang to declare an inventory of nuclear weapons, facilities and materials, or commit it to a specific timeline for denuclearization.

“I think we should take these steps as very positive, but remember that North Korea is still taking baby steps,” said Melissa Hanham, a senior research associate at the James Martin Centre for Nonproliferation Studies.

“We don’t have a timeline, and we also don’t have any guarantees about the larger nuclear and missile programs.”

The two Koreas agreed to begin construction to reconnect railways and roads within this year. They will also work to restart a joint factory park in the North border city of Kaesong and tours to the North’s Mount Kumgang resort, when conditions are met.

But some experts worry those projects could constitute a violation of U.N. Security Council sanctions aimed at drying up resources for Pyongyang’s weapons programs, and upset Washington.

Later on Wednesday, Moon’s delegation is scheduled to tour the Mansudae Art Studio, the North’s largest producer of art and propaganda, which was sanctioned by the United Nations last year.

The two Koreas also agreed to pursue a bid to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympic Games, and actively work together in other international competitions including the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

They also adopted a separate military accord aimed at preventing armed clashes between the old foes, which are technically still at war because the Korean War ended with a truce, not a peace treaty.

The neighbors will gradually withdraw guard posts and equipment in a move to transform the world’s most heavily fortified border into a no-weapons area, the agreement said.

Later on Wednesday, Moon is scheduled to watch the North’s signature “Brilliant Fatherland” Mass Game, with a formation of glowing drones, lasers and stadium-sized gymnastics shows designed to glorify the country.

On Thursday, the last day of his three-day visit, Moon plans to visit Mount Baektu in North Korea with Kim before returning home.

North Korea says Kim’s grandfather and father were born at Mount Baektu, a centerpiece of the North’s idolization and propaganda campaign to highlight the ruling family’s sacred bloodline.</s>SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea agreed on Wednesday to “permanently” abolish its key missile facilities in the presence of foreign experts, and said it is willing to close its main nuclear complex if the United States takes unspecified “reciprocal action”.

Speaking at a joint news conference in Pyongyang, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said they agreed to turn the Korean peninsula into a “land of peace without nuclear weapons and nuclear threats” and take “prompt steps” toward the goal.

The third summit this year between the leaders of the two Koreas was aimed at improving ties between the hostile neighbors and rekindling stalled negotiations on the North’s nuclear program between Pyongyang and Washington.

Kim pledged to work toward the “complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula” during his two meetings with Moon earlier this year and his historic encounter with U.S. President Donald Trump in June.

But discussions over how to implement the vague commitments have since faltered, with Washington demanding concrete action towards denuclearization by Pyongyang before agreeing to key goals of Pyongyang - declaring an official end to the Korean War and easing tough international sanctions.

“Kim Jong Un has agreed to allow Nuclear inspections, subject to final negotiations, and to permanently dismantle a test site and launch pad in the presence of international experts. In the meantime there will be no Rocket or Nuclear testing,” Trump wrote on Twitter.

Kim said he will visit Seoul in the near future, in what would be the first-ever visit to the South’s capital by a North Korean leader. Moon said the visit was expected to take place by the end of the year.

Though North Korea has unilaterally stopped nuclear and missile tests, it did not allowed international inspections for a dismantlement of its only known nuclear test site in May, drawing criticism that its action could not be verified and could be easily reversed.

As a next step, North Korea will allow experts from “concerned countries” to watch the closure of its missile engine testing site and launch pad in the northwestern town of Dongchang-ri, Moon said. The facilities have served as a key test center for its intercontinental ballistic missiles designed at reaching the United States.

The North also “expressed its readiness” to take additional measures, such as a permanent dismantlement of its main nuclear facilities in Yongbyon should there be corresponding measures from the United States, Moon said.

“I think we should take these steps as very positive, but remember that North Korea is still taking baby steps,” said Melissa Hanham, a senior research associate at the James Martin Centre for Nonproliferation Studies.

“We don’t have a timeline, and we also don’t have any guarantees about the larger nuclear and missile programs. Allowing inspectors to the (Yongbyon) site would be useful, but it depends how much they let them see and what instruments they are allowed to take.”

North Korea has consistently refused to give up its nuclear arsenal unilaterally, and stressed that a formal declaration to end the 1950-53 Korean War should come first.

Satellite photographs and other evidence in recent months have suggested North Korea is continuing to work on its nuclear program clandestinely.

The United States has so far failed to convince Pyongyang to declare an inventory of nuclear weapons, facilities and materials, or commit it to a specific timeline for denuclearization steps. Wednesday’s agreement falls short of what U.S. officials have demanded.

According to international experts, Yongbyon houses 5 megawatt reactors, centrifuges, fissile materials used to build bombs, such as uranium and plutonium, and other facilities and equipment.

The two Koreas also agreed to pursue a bid to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympic Games, and actively work together in other international competitions including the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

They also adopted a separate military accord aimed at preventing armed clashes between the old foes, which are technically still at war because the Korean War ended with a truce, not a peace treaty.

The neighbors will gradually withdraw guard posts and equipment in a move to transform the world’s most heavily fortified border into a no-weapons area, the agreement said.

Later on Wednesday, Moon’s delegation will tour the Mansudae Art Studio, the North’s largest producer of art where state artists build statues and produce propaganda at a sprawling complex in Pyongyang.

The institution was sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council last year as part of global efforts to rein in Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs by drying up its revenue sources.

Moon is also scheduled to watch the North’s signature “Brilliant Fatherland” Mass Game which was reintroduced this year following a five-year hiatus, with a formation of glowing drones, lasers and stadium-sized gymnastics shows designed to glorify the country.</s>US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed Pyongyang's "important commitments" made by Pyongyang during Wednesday's inter-Korean summit, adding Washington was ready to begin negotiating immediately to achieve the denuclearization of North Korea "by January 2021."

In a statement, Pompeo said he spoke with his North Korean counterpart Wednesday morning and invited him to meet in New York next week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

The statement came after the North's leader Kim Jong Un agreed to make a historic visit to Seoul soon and close a missile testing site in front of international inspectors in a meeting with the South's President Moon Jae-in.

Progress on the key issue of the North's nuclear arsenal was limited, but the two signed a document to strengthen ties between the two halves of the divided peninsula.

Building on a growing rapprochement, they agreed to create a facility to hold family reunions at any time, work towards joining up road and rail links, and mount a combined bid for the 2032 Olympics.

"On the basis of these important commitments, the United States is prepared to engage immediately in negotiations to transform U.S.-DPRK relations," said Pompeo.

In addition to Pompeo's meeting with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, "we have invited North Korean representatives to meet our Special Representative for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, in Vienna, Austria at the earliest opportunity," the statement continued.

"This will mark the beginning of negotiations to transform U.S.-DPRK relations through the process of rapid denuclearization of North Korea, to be completed by January 2021, as committed by Chairman Kim, and to construct a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula."

Kim's trip to Seoul would be the first by a Northern leader since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, when hostilities ceased with an armistice rather than a peace treaty, leaving them technically in a state of war.

In their agreement, the North also said it would "permanently close" a missile engine testing site and launch facility in Tongchang-ri "in the presence of experts from relevant nations."</s>North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says he will visit Seoul "in the near future," amid an ongoing summit with South Korea's Moon Jae-in in which he also renewed pledges to shut down a primary missile launch site and a key nuclear weapons complex if the U.S. takes "corresponding" measures.

Kim's remarks about traveling to Seoul were made during a news conference in Pyongyang with the South Korean president. It would be the first-ever visit to the South Korean capital by a North Korean head of state.

In their third summit, Kim and Moon also laid out plans to draw down forces along their heavily fortified border and announced an agreement for their athletes to compete as a single team at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and to submit a joint bid to host the games in 2032.

In addition, the two leaders agreed that before the end of the year, they would participate in groundbreaking ceremonies to link railways along the east and west coasts of the Korean peninsula.

Moon said that the two sides agreed that the Koreas should become a "land of peace without nuclear weapons and nuclear threats." Kim called the agreement "a leap forward" toward peace between the two historically bitter rivals.

In it, defense chiefs from Pyongyang and Seoul said they would establish "buffer zones" between their land and maritime borders to reduce the possibility of accidental military clashes. They also agreed to withdraw 11 guard posts from the Demilitarized Zone along the 38th parallel that acts as the de facto border between the two sides, who remain technically at war more than six decades after the Korean conflict ended without a peace treaty.

North Korea would also shut down its Dongchang-ri missile engine testing and launch facility and allow the process to be monitored by international observers.

The North promised to dismantle its Yongbyon nuclear weapons facility as far back as 2007 and the significance of shuttering the two facilities is not clear. The North has demonstrated a capability for using mobile launchers to fire its ballistic missiles and some observers believe Pyongyang maintains secret nuclear facilities in addition to Yongbyon.

Although it was not clear what "corresponding" U.S. steps North Korea expected as a condition to make good on the promise to shut down Yongbyon, President Trump, in a tweet just after midnight Wednesday, appeared to deem the summit a success, calling it "Very exciting!"

Even so, lasting rapprochement between the two Koreas have proven elusive in the past, with hopes for peace degenerating into renewed recriminations and saber rattling following two previous summits in 2000 and 2007.

Although Trump has remained optimistic about improved relations between Washington and Pyongyang, the initial euphoria following the Singapore summit in June — after which the president declared that North Korea was "no longer a nuclear threat" – quickly wore off. Follow-up meetings between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korean officials failed to produce concrete results and Pyongyang quickly returned to its bombastic anti-American rhetoric.

As The Associated Press notes of the agreement, "... while containing several tantalizing offers, it appears to fall short of the major steps many in Washington had been looking for - such as a commitment by Pyongyang to provide a list of the North's nuclear facilities, a solid step-by-step timeline or an agreement to allow international inspectors in to assess progress or discover violations."

Moon on Wednesday acknowledged, "there will be challenges and trials, but the more we overcome them the stronger we will become."

"We are not afraid of future challenges," he said.

Harry Kazianis, director of defense studies at the Center for the National Interest in Washington, tells NPR that keeping the lines of communication open between North and South is paramount.

"If we are going to have change in the Korean Peninsula, if we're not going to have a war, you need to have some sort of political framework where all sides will keep talking," Kazianis says.

In a reference to some of Trump's harshest threats against the North before tensions finally eased, Kazianis says as long as dialogue continues, "if there are rough patches, if there are problems, we can talk our way through and not go back to fire and fury."</s>SEOUL — South Korean president Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a broad agreement on Wednesday morning in Pyongyang that both said would usher in a new era of peace on the Korean peninsula.

At a news conference held in Pyongyang’s state guesthouse Paekhwawon, President Moon said that North Korea will permanently dismantle its Donchang-ri missile engine test site and launch pad and would allow international inspectors to observe. He added that the North would take the further step of closing its Yongbyon nuclear facility if the United States responded with further concessions.

"The South and the North also discussed denuclearization steps for the first time," Moon said of his talks with Kim in a joint press conference held at the North's state guesthouse Paekhwawon.

The Yonhap News Agency reported Kim Jong Un said he and Moon had agreed to remove all nuclear weapons and threats from the Korean Peninsula.

"The September declaration will open a higher level for the improvement in relations (between the South and the North) ... and bring closer the era of peace and prosperity," Kim was quoted.

The defense ministers of both countries also signed agreements which Seoul said included measures to reduce military tensions on the divided peninsula.

At the conference, which was broadcast live on South Korean television, President Moon said that Kim had agreed to visit Seoul in the near future and that the two Koreas would bid to jointly host the 2032 Summer Olympics.</s>
• South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed to make several steps towards denuclearization to promote "a land of peace" after their summit in Pyongyang on Wednesday.
• One of the key parts of the Pyongyang Joint Declaration included the "permanent dismantlement" of North Korea's primary nuclear facility in Yongbyon, and allowing international inspectors to observe the disassembly of an engine test site.
• Moon prefaced this plan by noting the US needed to reciprocate the measure.
• Kim and Moon also agreed to collaborate on a bid to host the 2032 Summer Olympics. Additionally, Kim said he "promised" to visit Seoul "in the near future."

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed to make several steps toward denuclearization to promote "a land of peace" after their summit in Pyongyang on Wednesday.

Kim and Moon signed the Pyongyang Joint Declaration, which offered more specifics than in previous agreements, in front of gaggle of news reporters for their third summit meeting. Moon arrived on Wednesday as the first South Korean president in Pyongyang in 11 years.

One of the key parts of the agreement included the "permanent dismantlement" of North Korea's primary nuclear facility in Yongbyon, and allowing international inspectors to confirm the disassembly of an engine test site. Moon prefaced this plan by noting the US needed to reciprocate the measure.

"We have agreed to make the Korean Peninsula a land of peace that is free from nuclear weapons and nuclear threat," Kim said. "The road to our future will not always be smooth and we may face challenges and trials we can't anticipate. But we aren't afraid of headwinds because our strength will grow as we overcome each trial based on the strength of our nation."

Kim and Moon also agreed to make a joint bid to host the 2032 Summer Olympics. The two countries competed together during the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, despite some protests from conservative South Korean lawmakers and athletes. The move was part of an initial effort to improve relations between the two Koreas ahead of a summit between the US and North Korea, which took place in June.

Kim also said he "promised" to visit Seoul "in the near future." Moon reiterated the claim by saying that a potential visit may take place in 2018 "unless there are certain special circumstances." A visit by a North Korean leader to Seoul, the first since the Korean Peninsula was divided, would likely spark mass protests, just as it did when North Korea's delegation of athletes and musical performers visited the country during the Winter Olympics.

Former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un's father, made a similar promise to visit Seoul after a summit in 2000, but the trip never happened.

While the two leaders expressed cautious optimism in the months ahead, the US, South Korea's key ally, expressed concern over the developments. US-North Korean diplomatic relations have seemingly stalled after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suddenly canceled his trip to North Korea in August.

President Donald Trump embraced Kim since their June meeting in Singapore. Conversely, Trump has sought to drive a wedge between China and the North, at times scapegoating China for slowing the diplomatic process.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a skeptic of North Korea's recent outreach to the international community, said he was "concerned" over Moon's visit to Pyongyang.

"I'm concerned South Korea's visit is going to undermine efforts by [Pompeo] and [US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley] to impose maximum pressure on the North Korean regime," Graham said in a tweet on Tuesday. "While North Korea has stopped testing missiles and nuclear devices, they have NOT moved toward denuclearization."

"South Korea should not be played by Kim Jong Un," Graham added.</s>On the second day of meetings between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang, North Korea, Kim proposed a few steps toward concrete denuclearization, but only if the United States reciprocates as well.

A few of the plans Kim made involved furthering peace talks with South Korea and making his first visit to the country’s capital of Seoul, The New York Times reported.

Kim also pledged to end military exercises and create no-fly zones at the border between the two countries in an effort to calm the nerves that have grown after reports that Kim was actually increasing his nuclear capacity after he promised to denuclearize in his June meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.

In relation to such denuclearization, however, Kim made a notable promise to dismantle a missile engine-test facility while also inviting “external inspectors” to watch over the dismantling to ensure it is disabled.

“We have agreed to make the Korean Peninsula a land of peace that is free from nuclear weapons and nuclear threat,” Kim said, according to The Washington Post. “The road to our future will not always be smooth, and we may face challenges and trials we can’t anticipate.”

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Kim is referring to the Yongbyon nuclear complex, which is central to his country’s nuclear program.

In return, Kim has asked the U.S. to formally declare an end to the 1950-1953 Korean War, which was halted with an armistice.

Kim said he will move forward with such pleasures only if the U.S. takes “corresponding steps” based on pledges Trump made in their June summit.

Experts are divided on the outcome of the meeting between Korean leaders, with some saying any steps in the right direction are welcome, while others are saying it’s not enough.

“No matter how hard I look, I can find no real progress in denuclearization in today’s announcements,” an analyst at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, Cheon Seong-whun, told the NYT.

Trump, on the other hand, welcomed the news on Twitter.

“These moves are expected to help resolve the international community’s doubts toward North Korea’s preemptive dismantling moves in the past as a mere show,” director of South Korea’s National Security Office, Chung Eui-yong, said, according to The Post.

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Even though Kim seemingly made moves to dismantle sites and simmer his nuclear capacity, one expert, Melissa Hanham from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, reminded the U.S. that Kim has more than one nuclear facility and Kim’s concessions do not translate to ending all missile programs.

On top of nuclear talks, Moon and Kim decided the two countries would compete together at the 2020 Olympics and make a bid to hold the Summer Games in 2032.

In another move appearing to show solidarity, the two announced a ceremony to open railroads and roads connecting the countries, The Post reported.

The White House said on Sept. 10 that the U.S. and North Korea are discussing a second meeting to further stalled denuclearization talks.

A version of this article appeared on The Daily Caller News Foundation website.

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.</s>The Korean leaders have agreed on a process to complete denuclearise the Korean peninsula.

The Korean leaders have agreed on a process to complete denuclearise the Korean peninsula.

THE KOREAN leaders have agreed on a process to completely denuclearise the Korean peninsula.

South Korean president Moon Jae-in says the two leaders have reached a conclusion on a range of measures designed to bring an end to simmering tensions.

 He said North Korea will close its Tongchang-ri missile testing site following the ongoing three-day summit in Pyongyang.

"The North agreed to permanently close the Tongchang-ri missile engine test site and missile launch facility in the presence of experts from relevant nations," Mr Moon told reporters.

He also said the North had agreed to permanently dismantle its main Nyongban nuclear complex if the United States takes corresponding measures.

The two countries have also reportedly agreed to jointly host the 2032 Summer Olympics.



 The pair spoke at a new conference after signing a joint statement.

The defense chiefs of the two Koreas also signed their agreements that Seoul says are about reducing military tensions along the border.

Today marked the leaders' second day of summit talks in the North Korean capital.

They were accompanied by their wives and top government officials, including Moon's national security adviser Chung Eui-yong and Kim's sister, Kim Yo Jong, who is seen as one of the hermit nation's most popular figures in the regime.

Before their meeting, Mr Moon attended a performance of North Korea's iconicm ass games.

South Korean media pool reports said Mr Kim thanked Mr Moon for brokering his Singapore summit with US president Donald Trump in June, which he credited with bringing stability to the region.

Mr Moon is expected to depart back to Seoul tomorrow.</s>SEOUL: South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announced a sweeping set of agreements after their second day of talks in Pyongyang on Wednesday that included a promise by Kim to permanently dismantle the North's main nuclear complex if the United States takes corresponding measures, the acceptance of international inspectors to monitor the closing of a key missile test site and launch pad and a vow to work together to host the Summer Olympics in 2032.

Declaring they had made a major step toward peace on the Korean Peninsula, the two leaders were side by side as they announced the joint statement to a group of North and South Korean reporters after a closed-door meeting Wednesday morning.

"We have agreed to make the Korean Peninsula a land of peace that is free from nuclear weapons and nuclear threat," Kim said as he stood by Moon's side at the guesthouse where Moon is staying. "The road to our future will not always be smooth and we may face challenges and trials we can't anticipate. But we aren't afraid of headwinds because our strength will grow as we overcome each trial based on the strength of our nation."

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Kim and Moon earlier smiled and chatted as they walked down a hallway and into a meeting room to finalize the joint statement, which also said that the leaders would push for a Korean Peninsula without nuclear weapons and to "eliminate all the danger of war." They agreed that Kim would visit the South in the near future.

The statement caps off the third summit between Kim and Moon, who is under increasing pressure from Washington to find a path forward in its efforts to get Kim to completely — and unilaterally — abandon his nuclear arsenal.

But while containing several tantalizing offers, it appears to fall short of the major steps many in Washington had been looking for — such as a commitment by Pyongyang to provide a list of the North's nuclear facilities, a solid step-by-step timeline or an agreement to allow international inspectors in to assess progress or discover violations.

The question is whether it will be enough for President Donald Trump to pick up where Moon has left off.

Trump has maintained that he and Kim have a solid relationship, and both leaders have expressed interest in a follow-up summit to their meeting in June in Singapore. North Korea has been demanding a declaration formally ending the Korean War, which was stopped in 1953 by a cease-fire, but neither leader mentioned it as they read the joint statement.

In the meantime, however, Moon and Kim made concrete moves of their own to reduce tensions on their border.

According a joint statement signed by the countries' defense chiefs, the two Koreas agreed to establish buffer zones along their land and sea borders to reduce military tensions and prevent accidental clashes. They also agreed to withdraw 11 guard posts from the Demilitarized Zone by December and to establish a no-fly zone above the military demarcation line that bisects the two Koreas that will apply to planes, helicopters and drones.

Though not directly linked to security, the leaders' announcement that they would seek a joint Summer Olympics was a significant move in terms of easing tensions and building trust. It also flows from the North's decision to participate in the Pyeongchang Winter Games in February, which was regarded as a success for both sides.

Other agreements aimed at removing some longstanding irritants from their relations — such as allowing more contact between families divided by the Korean War. Moon also appeared to be making good on his proposals to help build up the North's infrastructure and open cross-border rail links.

Unlike Trump's initial tweets praising the summit, the news brought a quick and negative response from Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who tweeted he was concerned the visit would undermine efforts by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley to impose "maximum pressure" on Pyongyang.

"While North Korea has stopped testing missiles and nuclear devices, they have NOT moved toward denuclearization," he tweeted.

With the main business of the day over, North Korea was expected to hold a huge mass games spectacle in the evening, with Moon as the special guest.

The North had put the iconic games, which feature tens of thousands of performers dancing and flipping placards in unison to create giant mosaics and slogans, on a back burner for the past several years, but revived them for this month's celebrations of its 70th founding anniversary. In a performance for the anniversary, a giant photo of Moon and Kim shaking hands at their first summit in April was projected onto one side of the stands in Pyongyang's 150,000-seat May Day Stadium.

Kim has gone all out to make Moon's visit a memorable one.

On Tuesday, the first day of the summit, he greeted Moon and his wife at Pyongyang's airport and then rode into town with Moon in an open limousine through streets lined with crowds of North Koreans, who cheered and waved the flag of their country and a blue-and-white flag that symbolizes Korean unity.

The summit talks began at the ruling Workers' Party headquarters where Kim and Moon were joined by two of their top deputies — spy chief Suh Hoon and presidential security director Chung Eui-yong for Moon, and for Kim, his sister, Kim Yo Jong, and senior Workers' Party official Kim Yong Chol, according to Moon's office.

At the start of their meeting Tuesday, Kim thanked Moon for brokering the June summit with Trump.

"It's not too much to say that it's Moon's efforts that arranged a historic North Korea-U.S. summit. Because of that, the regional political situation has been stabilized and more progress on North Korea-U.S. ties is expected," Kim said, according to South Korean media pool reports and Moon's office.

Moon responded by expressing his own thanks to Kim for making a "bold decision" in a New Year's speech to open a new era of detente and send a delegation to the South Korean Winter Olympics in February.</s>Foto: / AP Photo / dpa

It was (once again) a historic meeting. For the third time this year, North Korea’s dictator, Kim Jong-un, and South Korea’s president, Moon Jae-in, shook hands.

They agreed on initial nuclear disarmament, buffer and no-flight zones, a joint application for the 2032 Olympics, and the next joint meeting in Seoul.

North Korea expert Bernhard Bartsch (Bertelsmann Foundation): “If these common projects will indeed be implemented, in the future this meeting will count as a breakthrough. With respect to the North Korea crisis, however, one should avoid any premature praise.”

Bartsch thinks: “South Korea’s president is obviously pursuing a policy of change through cooperation. His hope is: the more concrete joint projects North and South Korea have, the more exchanges will take place, and the more difficult it will be for the North to suddenly end the cooperation again. Moon also understands that his policy can be successful if Kim can shine with these initiatives. He has to make sure that Kim comes off well.”

The expert also points out that this would not be the first time that North Korea announced big projects that later failed because of presumptuous demands. Bartsch: “Hence one always has to be careful. As is well known, nothing came out of the big announcements at the summit with Trump in Singapore. However, the agreements with South Korea are much more concrete and realistic.”
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un greets South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Pyongyang for their third summit meeting in 2018, as both countries look to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula.