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President Moon shakes hands with Chung Eui-yong

South and North Korea reached a sudden agreement to hold a third inter-Korean summit in the Panmunjeom Joint Security Area (JSA) at the end of April. Barring any major provocations or other variables, leaders from the two sides will sit down together for the first time in ten years and six months, following the first summit in June 2000 and the second summit in Oct. 2007. After throwing wide the “window of opportunity” created by the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, South and North Korea appear to be embarking together on a long journey whose destination is ending the Cold War regime on the Korean Peninsula.

The press statement about the outcome of President Moon Jae-in’s special delegation to North Korea that was presented on the evening of Mar. 6 by Blue House National Security Office director Chung Eui-yong, after he returned from Pyongyang with the delegation, was groundbreaking. Less than a month after Kim Yo-jong, first vice director of the central committee of the North Korean Workers' Party, met Moon on Feb. 10 and invited him to visit the North while visiting the South as a special envoy for Kim Jong-un, the two leaders have agreed to the proposal.

“Holding an inter-Korean summit [sooner than some may have expected] is very positive for developing inter-Korean relations and is something to welcome. Both South and North Korea felt that it’s best for the summit to be held as soon as possible. [Kim Jong-un] appears to have a considerable amount of trust in President Moon,” Chung said.

It is notable for several reasons that South and North Korea settled on the end of April as the timing for holding the summit. When Kim Yo-jong invited Moon to visit the North, Moon said that the two sides should “create the right conditions to make that happen.” At the same time, Moon emphasized that “North Korea-US dialogue needs to be held soon for the development of inter-Korean relations.”

For the moment, Moon appears to have concluded that Kim’s expression of the principle of denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and a forward-looking position toward dialogue with the US during his interview with the South Korean special delegation means that the right conditions are in place for a summit.

“Since South and North Korea agreed in principle to hold an early summit, we have settled for now on the end of April. We agreed to keep deliberating about the specific date,” Chung said.

The agreement to hold a summit in April also appears to be motivated by the strategic decision to use that summit as an impetus for dialogue between North Korea and the US, which has said that denuclearization must be on the agenda of any talks with the North. If North Korea-US dialogue leads to meaningful results, Moon can use the summit in April to make even more rapid progress on inter-Korean relations. And if North Korea-US dialogue runs into unexpected trouble, Moon can deal directly with Kim during their summit in April to create the momentum to bring North Korea and the US back to the negotiating table.

It is also significant that South and North Korea selected the House of Peace in the Panmunjeom JSA as the location for holding the summit. As the place where the armistice was signed, Panmunjeom represents the division of the Korean Peninsula, and the very fact that the leaders of South and North Korea are meeting there is highly symbolic and will focus international attention. Furthermore, the House of Peace is located on the South Korean side of Panmunjeom, which means that Kim will essentially be visiting South Korea. This seems to show North Korea’s awareness of the controversy inside South Korea about the fact that both of the previous summits were held in Pyongyang.

“The two previous summits were both held in Pyongyang. Panmunjeom is a symbol of the division of the Korean Peninsula. It is significant for the third summit to be held in the House of Peace on the southern side of Panmunjeom,” Jeong said. Since the House of Peace is under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Command and is off-limits to civilians, neither side has any cause to worry about security.

“South and North Korea’s decision to hold an early summit and to install a direct communications hotline can be seen as a declaration that they will no longer maintain hostile relations. The first step toward dismantling the Cold War regime on the Korean Peninsula has been taken directly by South and North Korea, which are the parties concerned, rather than by any outside forces,” said Koo Kab-woo, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies.

By Jung In-hwan, staff reporter

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