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South Korean President Moon Jae-in reports the results of the third inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang during a press conference at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul on Sept. 20. (photo pool)

South Korean President Moon has stated in a press conference that “the term ‘permanent shutdown of the Yongbyon Nuclear Complex’ used by North Korea in the September Pyongyang Declaration has the same meaning as the verifiable and irreversible closure sought by the US.”

He went on to say “Chairman Kim Jong-un made it clear that he hoped to invite US State Secretary Mike Pompeo to North Korea and hold a second North Korea-US summit in the near future so that the denuclearization process can be implemented quickly.”

Moon stressed that “a second North Korea-US summit is necessary,” adding, “If the two leaders are able to overcome the deadlock through a second summit, denuclearization talks can proceed at a faster pace.”

Upon returning to Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on Sept. 20 after the three-day visit to Pyongyang, Moon held a press conference at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) press center in which he reported the results of the summit to the South Korean public.

“Some of the [denuclearization] issues discussed [with Chairman Kim] were not included in the agreement [the Pyongyang Declaration],” Moon revealed.

“We spent a lot of time talking about ways to get talks between North Korea and the US back on track, which are currently at a standstill. When I meet with President Trump [during the UN General Assembly on Sept. 24] I plan to speak to him about the details of this.”

In particular, Moon stated that Kim “wished to finish the process of complete denuclearization as soon as possible and focus on economic development. He reaffirmed his commitment to denuclearization several times.”

Moon went on to say, “I hope that the US will be able to put itself in North Korea’s shoes, considering the North’s commitment and stated position and resume talks at an early date.”

Referring to Kim’s willingness to permanently close the Yongbyon nuclear facility, Moon added, “In that case, both South Korea and the US need to take measures to put an end to hostile relations with North Korea.”

He stressed that such measures “should be adopted in a balanced manner between North Korea and the US,” and suggested that one important measure for achieving this is officially declaring an end to the war before the end of the year.

“Because the end of war declaration is a political declaration that signals the cessation of hostilities, it is a way of sending trust towards North Korea,” Moon stated. “Declaring an end to the war before the end of 2018 is our goal, and I aim to discuss this during my upcoming meeting with President Trump.”

The president added “The Singapore Declaration [adopted during the June 12 North Korea-US summit] represents agreement in principle,” stressing the need for a second North Korea-US summit.

“If the two leaders are able to reach an agreement [through a second meeting] on working-level negotiations to determine the timeline for denuclearization and the reciprocal measures that each side will implement, it will lead to more effective progress on denuclearization.”

South Korean President Moon Jae-in reports the results of the third inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang during a press conference at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul on Sept. 20. (photo pool)

In other words, a top-down approach where the heads of state reach broad agreement on the issues and ”direct traffic” is an effective method of breaking the deadlock and ensuring swift implementation of denuclearization and the end of war declaration.

In short, the overarching blueprint that has come out of the “frank and open discussion” between President Moon and Chairman Kim over the past three days is a plan for expediting the process of denuclearization and implementing reciprocal measures. This means a second North Korea-US summit, followed by an official end of war declaration within the year, ultimately leading to the permanent closure of the Yongbyon nuclear facility and the implementation of other reciprocal measures by South Korea and the US.

By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer

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