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South Korean President Moon Jae-in said today that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will visit Seoul soon.
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"A return visit of President Kim Jong Un to Seoul will also take place soon," Moon said in front of the National Assembly.
The comment, included in a speech on the next budget proposed by the government, comes as Moon also specifies the prospects for further improving relations between the two countries, including the denuclearization of the peninsula.
KCNA VIA KNS / AFP / Getty Images
"From now on, based on strong mutual trust, North Korea and South Korea and the United States will achieve complete denuclearization and lasting peace," said Mr Moon. "It's an opportunity that has come as a miracle – it's something we should never miss."
Moon also pointed out that the military threats between the two Koreas no longer exist. The new inter-Korean military agreement signed by the head of the defense department of each country entered into force today.
The leaders of the two Koreas announced at the third inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang in September that Kim will return to Seoul later this year, unless there are extenuating circumstances.
"Kim Jong Un's visit to Seoul must involve a breakthrough in North Korea's desire to denuclearize," ABC News Cheol-wun Jang, a professor at the Korea Institute of Studies, told ABC News. 39 Far East of Kyungnam University in Seoul. "This would also mean that North Korea has clarified its position regarding relations between North Korea and the United States, ready to engage in outside activities."
Kim would become the first leader of North Korea to visit the South Korean capital.
