North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed to permanently dismantle his main nuclear complex at Nyongbyon if the United States takes corresponding measures, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday after the two leaders held summit talks in Pyongyang to try to sustain nuclear diplomacy with Washington, which has been pushing hard for stronger disarmament moves from the North.

The Korean leaders also said the North would dismantle a missile engine test site and launch pad in the presence of outside inspectors, and would seek to host the 2032 Summer Olympics together. Moon also said Kim would try to visit Seoul sometime this year. Washington wants North Korea to outline the entirety of its nuclear program, and its response to Wednesday’s joint statement from the Koreas remains to be seen. While the declaration appears to fall short of what Washington wants, President Donald Trump has maintained that he and Kim have a solid relationship and both leaders have expressed interest in meeting again after their June summit in Singapore. North Korea has been demanding a declaration formally ending the Korean War, which was stopped in 1953 by a ceasefire, but neither leader mentioned it as they read the joint statement.

“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.”

Kim and Moon earlier smiled and chatting 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.” North Korea was expected to hold a huge mass games spectacle later in the day, with Moon attending an event expected to draw about 150,000 spectators, Seoul said. It wasn’t clear if Kim would attend. North Korea first staged its mass games in 2002, when Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il, was leader. They continued most every year until 2014, then were revived during North Korea’s celebrations of the 70th anniversary of its state founding earlier this month.

Kim gave the South Korean president an exceedingly warm welcome on Tuesday, the first day of the summit, meeting him and his wife at Pyongyang’s airport — itself a very unusual gesture — then riding 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 made-for-television welcome has become routine for their summits, after two meetings earlier this year.

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>North Korea announced today that it will permanently close a major missile test site. Kim Jong Un, the North's leader, said the site would be dismantled in the presence of international inspectors.

But experts who have been watching the site say the gesture will do virtually nothing to hamper the North's missile and nuclear weapons capabilities. Instead, they say, the move represents the latest in the North's piecemeal disarmament on its own terms. In May, North Korea demolished entrances to its underground nuclear test site, without the presence of inspectors.

Closing this missile site "may not be completely cost-free, but in the grand scheme of things it's not a particularly big step towards disarmament," says Vipin Narang, an arms control researcher at MIT who follows the North's program.

Narang notes this is the same site that North Korea promised to partially dismantle at the conclusion of talks with president Donald Trump back in June. "The fact that Kim is milking a single test-site for basically months on end is pretty remarkable," Narang says.

The North's announcement came during a summit between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The two leaders also discussed drawing down troops along the border between the two countries and a joint bid to co-host the Olympics.

The site is known by several names: Tongchang-ri, Dongchang-ri and Sohae. It was largely referred to as Sohae following talks with Trump, but in the latest statement Kim refers to it as Dongchang-ri.

"That confusion, I think, is by design," Narang says. Using different names might convince some that North Korea is making an additional commitment.

Sohae has been home to North Korea's space program, according to Joseph Bermudez, an imagery analyst with the website 38 North. In 2012, North Korea successfully launched its first satellite from Sohae. A second launch took place in 2016.

While the site's main purpose was ostensibly civilian, Bermudez and Narang say that rockets used to launch spacecraft share much in common with intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). "Technologies can be transferred between civilian and military programs," Bermudez says. Narang says some ICBM rocket engines were once tested at the Sohae site.

Sohae was important to North Korea's space program, but it has not been as active in recent years. Following the 2016 space launch, the site was used to test a handful of shorter-range scud missiles, according to a database maintained by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. The last test took place in March of 2017.

In recent months, Bermudez and other experts at 38 North have seen signs that buildings at the site are already being taken apart. It appears work has stopped for now, he says.

The North's ICBM program has many other sites it can use. Pyongyang's newest, biggest ICBMs have been tested from fields and airstrips scattered throughout the country. And in recent years, North Korea has been researching solid-fueled missiles, which can be launched more quickly than the current generation of liquid-fueled ICBMs. Those missiles have been tested at a site known as Magunpo on the other side of the peninsula.

Meanwhile, Narang says, North Korea is widely believed to be building up its nuclear arsenal: "They claim they're already mass-producing the ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons that they've already tested."

Both experts share an equally dim view of Kim's promise to allow outside experts to watch the dismantlement of Sohae.

For one thing, "it's not clear who an expert would be," Narang says. Whoever they are, he doubts they would come from a body such as the International Atomic Energy Agency, which was kicked out of North Korea in 2009.

The offer to let experts watch is far short is what most experts would call verifiable disarmament, adds Bermudez. True denuclearization would involve the north declaring both weapons and facilities. Then, international inspectors would aggressively check to make sure the North was keeping with its declaration.

Despite limited nature of this latest promise, Bermudez says today's announcement still counts as a positive step.

"Any agreement with North Korea is the beginning of a long-term process," Bermudez says. "I'm an optimist at heart."</s>North Korean leader Kim Jong Un kicked off his summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in with a rare airport welcome for Moon and praise for the Singapore summit Kim had in June with President Donald Trump.

“Thanks to that, the political situation in the region has stabilized and I expect more advanced results,” Kim told Moon, referring to the Singapore gathering, Reuters reported.

Kim made his first personal airport welcome since he took power in 2011, according to South Korean officials, as he greeted Moon to start the South Korean leader’s first visit to Pyongyang for his third summit meeting with Kim.

Kim told Moon that he wants diplomacy to succeed.

“I think it was our people’s wish that we come up with good results as fast as we can,” Kim said, according to The Associated Press.

TRENDING: Charles Krauthammer’s Family Announces Posthumous Release of Project He Was Working on When He Died

Moon has positioned himself to be the go-between to keep talks moving between North Korea and the United States as they deal with decades of suspicion and multiple complex issues.

“If North Korea-U.S. dialogue is restarted after this visit, it would have much significance in itself,” Moon said before his departure.

“What I want to achieve is peace. Not a tentative change which could be volatile dependent on international situation, but irreversible, permanent and unwavering peace, regardless of what might happen on the global arena,” Moon tweeted, according to CNN.

Moon said he will do what it takes to keep everyone talking

“I am willing to talk candidly with Chairman Kim Jong Un to find a balance between the U.S.’ demands for denuclearization and North Korea’s request for dropping hostile policies and enforcing measures to secure their safety,” Moon said Monday.

“I believe that the denuclearization issue can be progressed at a rapid pace if the two leaders face each other again and talk,” he said.

However, North Korea’s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said Tuesday that “the responsibility falls squarely on the United States” for the fact that talks about denuclearization have ground to a halt.

“It is due to its nonsensical, irrational stubbornness that other issues can only be discussed after our country has completely verifiably, irreversibly dismantled our nuclear capabilities … without showing the intention to build trust including declaring the end of war,” the newspaper said in an editorial, according to the AP.

RELATED: Just In: After Getting Letter from Kim, White House Coordinating 2nd North Korea Summit

Moon’s chief of staff, Im Jong-seok, said it’s “difficult to have any optimistic outlook” for major progress during the Moon-Kim meetings, NBC reported.

He said agreements to be announced Wednesday can “fundamentally remove the danger of armed clashes and ease fears of war” between North and South Korea.

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.</s>SEOUL: US President Donald Trump welcomed developments on Wednesday (Sep 19) at an inter-Korean summit in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang as "very exciting".

"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," Trump said on Twitter, referring to agreements the North Korean leader made in talks with South Korea's President Moon Jae-in.

"In the meantime there will be no Rocket or Nuclear testing," Trump added.

Referring to the repatriation of remains of US service people killed in the Korean War, which Kim and Moon also discussed, Trump said:

"Hero remains to continue being returned home to the United States. Also, North and South Korea will file a joint bid to host the 2032 Olympics. Very exciting!"</s>U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed developments on Wednesday at an inter-Korean summit in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang as "very exciting".

SEOUL: U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed developments on Wednesday at an inter-Korean summit in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang as "very exciting".

"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," Trump said on Twitter, referring to agreements the North Korean leader made in talks with South Korea's President Moon Jae-in.

"In the meantime there will be no Rocket or Nuclear testing," Trump added.

Referring to the repatriation of remains of U.S. service people killed in the Korean War, which Kim and Moon also discussed, Trump said:

"Hero remains to continue being returned home to the United States. Also, North and South Korea will file a joint bid to host the 2032 Olympics. Very exciting!"</s>President Donald Trump has said that he will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un soon. The announcement comes hours after Trump praised Kim's move to dismantle a nuclear test site and allow inspections.Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Trump was asked whether he will be meeting with Kim soon, to which the President replied "we will be."Kim made the announcement while meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Pyongyang. There, both leaders agreed to strengthen relations, and proposed measures like building railway connections between the two countries and starting joint economic projects.In addition, Kim promised to permanently shut down the country's main nuclear facility "should the United States take corresponding measures under the spirit of the June 12 North Korea-US joint statement," as reported by Yonhap. It is unclear what Kim meant by "corresponding measures," but this could refer to the US declaring an end to the Korean War, a conflict frozen in a state of armistice since 1953.President Moon praised Kim's "active efforts to turn the Korean peninsula into the land of peace without nuclear weapons or nuclear threats," and invited his northern counterpart to visit Seoul before the end of the year.Now, Trump's words build on conciliatory gestures from Kim in recent weeks. No ballistic missiles were displayed at North Korea's 70th anniversary parade earlier this month, and the White House announced last week that Trump had received a "personal" letter from Kim requesting a second meeting.President Moon will brief Trump on his meeting with Kim when world leaders come together for the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week. Speculation has mounted over whether Kim and Trump could hold an impromptu summit at the assembly, although that remains an unsubstantiated rumor.</s>North Korean leader Kim Jong Un kicked off his summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in with a rare airport welcome for Moon and praise for the Singapore summit Kim had in June with President Donald Trump.

“Thanks to that, the political situation in the region has stabilized and I expect more advanced results,” Kim told Moon, referring to the Singapore gathering, Reuters reported.

Kim made his first personal airport welcome since he took power in 2011, according to South Korean officials, as he greeted Moon to start the South Korean leader’s first visit to Pyongyang for his third summit meeting with Kim.

Kim told Moon that he wants diplomacy to succeed.

“I think it was our people’s wish that we come up with good results as fast as we can,” Kim said, according to The Associated Press.

TRENDING: Charles Krauthammer’s Family Announces Posthumous Release of Project He Was Working on When He Died

Moon has positioned himself to be the go-between to keep talks moving between North Korea and the United States as they deal with decades of suspicion and multiple complex issues.

“If North Korea-U.S. dialogue is restarted after this visit, it would have much significance in itself,” Moon said before his departure.

“What I want to achieve is peace. Not a tentative change which could be volatile dependent on international situation, but irreversible, permanent and unwavering peace, regardless of what might happen on the global arena,” Moon tweeted, according to CNN.

Moon said he will do what it takes to keep everyone talking

“I am willing to talk candidly with Chairman Kim Jong Un to find a balance between the U.S.’ demands for denuclearization and North Korea’s request for dropping hostile policies and enforcing measures to secure their safety,” Moon said Monday.

“I believe that the denuclearization issue can be progressed at a rapid pace if the two leaders face each other again and talk,” he said.

However, North Korea’s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said Tuesday that “the responsibility falls squarely on the United States” for the fact that talks about denuclearization have ground to a halt.

“It is due to its nonsensical, irrational stubbornness that other issues can only be discussed after our country has completely verifiably, irreversibly dismantled our nuclear capabilities … without showing the intention to build trust including declaring the end of war,” the newspaper said in an editorial, according to the AP.

RELATED: Just In: After Getting Letter from Kim, White House Coordinating 2nd North Korea Summit

Moon’s chief of staff, Im Jong-seok, said it’s “difficult to have any optimistic outlook” for major progress during the Moon-Kim meetings, NBC reported.

He said agreements to be announced Wednesday can “fundamentally remove the danger of armed clashes and ease fears of war” between North and South Korea.

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.</s>'What specific concessions do they want from us and the South, and are they worth it?'

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed an agreement on Wednesday that both said would usher in a new era of peace. Kim agreed to permanently dismantle his main nuclear complex.

South and North Korean leaders Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong Un on Wednesday pledged an era of "no war" on their peninsula. The announcement, which will see the Dongchang-ri missile engine test site and the Yongbyon nuclear site closed down, puts the ball in the Trump team’s court as it is based on Washington taking reciprocal measures.

The North is therefore now calling — beyond the halting of joint Washington-Seoul military exercises — for the United States to create situations on the ground in the peninsula where Pyongyang would feel "the decision to denuclearize was a right move."

One big move Kim appears to be angling for is President Donald Trump giving his support for formally ending the 1950-53 Korean War. On the face of it, this seems a simple (albeit very symbolic) step, but U.S. officials and conservatives in South Korea are concerned this would weaken the Washington-Seoul alliance and remove the rationale for the almost 28,000 U.S. forces stationed on the peninsula.

While there is remaining resistance in Washington to this, both Seoul and Pyongyang were encouraged by Trump's response to Kim's recent letter to him, which the president declared "said some terrific things about me." Trump's self-absorbed reaction underlines that a second meeting with Kim remains a significant possibility.

More on Trump's foreign policy: From Iran to North Korea, Trump is fixing the world

Despite Trump’s remaining investment in the talks, there is growing White House frustration with Pyongyang. National security adviser John Bolton has said that he is still waiting for significant unilateral action from Pyongyang, including a denuclearization plan and not more "rhetoric."

What this underlines is the significant expectation gap that emerged out of June’s Singapore summit. That session was no more than a start to a sustained strategic dialogue, despite the hype.

Trump, for instance, declared: "There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea." And one might have been forgiven for thinking that he had already completed the immensely complicated process of de-escalating tensions in the world’s last Cold War-era frontier.

Even today, however, it is still not clear that Trump has a comprehensive, clear or coherent strategy toward the Korean Peninsula, which continues to contain much complexity for the president around U.S. alliances and the non-proliferation regime, not to mention what exactly would constitute "denuclearization" on the peninsula.

As Steve Biegun, the new U.S. special representative to North Korea, begins his role, a wider breakthrough is still possible, which could see Korea eventually becoming a central part of Trump's foreign policy legacy. Yet unless the president's team raises its game, it is as likely to emulate others who have failed to bring a sustained, peaceful diplomatic outcome to one of the key foreign challenges facing Washington.

Andrew Hammond is an associate at the IDEAS foreign policy think tank at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

What others are saying

Scott Snyder, NPR: "The South Korean President Moon Jae-in administration's eagerness to reopen economic exchange with North Korea risks opening a rift between Washington and Seoul. Moon envisions economic cooperation with Pyongyang as a solution to South Korean economic woes, even as the United States continues to emphasize sanctions enforcement as the primary lever by which to pressure North Korea into denuclearizing."

Tom Rogan, Washington Examiner: "Moon has evidently decided that it is better to keep Kim happy, even if that choice leads to Kim's ever increased threat to the U.S. It's zero-sum realism. Of course, the U.S. cannot accept this South Korean strategy. To do so would be to endorse a North Korea that is both armed with a credible nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile strike capability and with the benefits of an economic opening to the world. Regardless of what that would mean for South Korea (and I would suggest it would be far worse for Moon than he assumes), it would pose an utterly unacceptable threat to America. Trump should thus make clear to Moon that while he welcomes his friendship with Kim, any decisions flowing from that relationship will not bind the U.S."

What our readers are saying

Well, it's starting to look like a strong possibility of peace. If South Korea can get us back at the table and we can get something concrete this time, we might just pull it off together. That being said, the U.S. will need to make concessions of its own to get anywhere, so who knows with this administration.

In terms of a nuclear deal, this is nowhere near as good as the Iran deal. Kim Jong Un does not agree to denuclearization without more concessions.

What are President Donald Trump's supporters celebrating? Trump did not demand peace in Korea; he demanded total denuclearization.

He made a big point in backing out of a deal with Iran. No celebrating halfway points. We demand full nuclear dismantling! Nothing less will do.

We need to analyze this deal to the fullest. What specific concessions do they want from us and the South, and are they worth it? I would always err on the side of caution when dealing with a historically duplicitous regime like North Korea.

To join the conversations about topics on USA TODAY, email letters@usatoday.com, comment on Facebook, or use #tellusatoday on Twitter.</s>SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Wednesday 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, 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”.

They said the North was also willing to close its main nuclear complex if the United States took unspecified “reciprocal action.”

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.

“I don’t think President Moon got everything he was seeking from these interactions, but Kim Jong Un gave Moon some tangible things for which he can take credit,” said Michael Madden, an analyst at the Stimson Centre’s 38 North think tank in Washington.

“These are good-faith gestures which will likely facilitate further and more substantive negotiations,” Madden said, adding a second summit between Kim and Trump was “highly probable”.

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 toward denuclearization, such as a full disclosure of North Korea’s nuclear and missile facilities, 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 would 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 leaders of the two Koreas also announced a series of steps to deepen bilateral exchanges in the economy, culture and sport.

Kim’s latest promises come days before Moon meets 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 of the dismantling 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.

The neighbors remain still technically at war because the Korean War ended in armistice and not a peace treaty.

North Korea has consistently refused to give up its nuclear arsenal unilaterally, and stressed that the United States should first agree to a formal declaration ending the war.

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

Seo Yu-suk, a research manager at the Institute of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said the facilities at Dongchang-ri and Yongbyon are “almost obsolete” and the North has mobile missile launchers that are easier to use and harder to detect, while there are likely covert sites elsewhere.

The two Koreas agreed to begin construction to reconnect railways and roads linking the countries 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.

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.

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 said on Wednesday 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 programme.

Speaking at a joint news conference in Pyongyang, 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”.

They said the North was also willing to close its main nuclear complex if the United States took unspecified “reciprocal action.”

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.

“I don’t think President Moon got everything he was seeking from these interactions, but Kim Jong Un gave Moon some tangible things for which he can take credit,” said Michael Madden, an analyst at the Stimson Centre’s 38 North think tank in Washington.

“These are good-faith gestures which will likely facilitate further and more substantive negotiations,” Madden said, adding a second summit between Kim and Trump was “highly probable”.

Kim pledged to work toward the “complete denuclearisation 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 denuclearisation, such as a full disclosure of North Korea’s nuclear and missile facilities, 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 would 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 leaders of the two Koreas also announced a series of steps to deepen bilateral exchanges in the economy, culture and sport.

Kim’s latest promises come days before Moon meets 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 cancelled 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 of the dismantling 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 centre 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.

The neighbours remain still technically at war because the Korean War ended in armistice and not a peace treaty.

North Korea has consistently refused to give up its nuclear arsenal unilaterally, and stressed that the United States should first agree to a formal declaration ending the war.

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

Seo Yu-suk, a research manager at the Institute of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said the facilities at Dongchang-ri and Yongbyon are “almost obsolete” and the North has mobile missile launchers that are easier to use and harder to detect, while there are likely covert sites elsewhere.

The two Koreas agreed to begin construction to reconnect railways and roads linking the countries 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 programmes, and upset Washington.

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.

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 centrepiece of the North’s idolization and propaganda campaign to highlight the ruling family’s sacred bloodline.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in states that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un wants to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump for a second time.