The Korean summit was set for September 18 to open a joint liaison office in the north of the country

TOKYO – South Korean President Moon Jae-in will travel to Pyongyang to meet with his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un on September 18, while the two countries also agreed to set up a joint liaison office in the North. said Thursday.

The summit, which will last until September 20, had been scheduled since last month, but the exact date was set after a team of South Korean envoys traveled to Pyongyang to meet Kim and send a letter from Moon on Wednesday.

This will be the third meeting between the two leaders this year as Moon makes significant efforts to improve relations with the North in the hope that it will convince Kim to reduce or abandon her nuclear arsenal.

He intervened despite a stalemate in negotiations between the United States and North Korea, with the planned visit of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo canceled last month.

The summit will discuss the implementation of a joint declaration by Moon and Kim during their meeting in the border village of Panmunjom in April, said in a statement the director of national security, Chung Eui-yong.

"The summit discussions will also focus on issues relating to the permanent settlement of peace and common prosperity on the Korean peninsula, as well as, in particular, practical measures to achieve denuclearization on the peninsula", he said. -he declares.

"Secondly, President Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his determination to completely denuclearize the Korean peninsula and declared himself ready to cooperate closely not only with the South but also with the United States," said Mr. Chung.

North Korea and South Korea had agreed to set up the joint liaison office when Moon met Kim in April.

The office will be established in the city of Kaesong in North Korea with resident representatives from both sides, "to facilitate close consultation among authorities as well as smooth exchanges and cooperation," according to the statement issued at the end of this document. April summit.

Kaesong is also the site of an industrial complex developed jointly by the two Koreas but largely funded by the South. Launched in 2004 in a previous attempt to improve relations with the North, it has enabled South Korean companies to manufacture products from cheaper North Korean labor. But Seoul suspended operations in 2016 after launching a long-range rocket and Pyongyang's fourth nuclear test.

Min Joo Kim contributed from Seoul.

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