By Yoon Sojung

Leaders of North Korea and the U.S. held a first historic meeting on June 12 and signed a joint statement.

The two leaders reached agreement on the goal of complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, building a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula, and normalizing the Pyeongyang-Washington relationship.

North Korea’s Chairman of the State Affairs Commission Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump signed the joint statement at the Capella Hotel in Singapore where they held the “historic summit of the century.”

The joint statement expresses the willingness of North Korea and the U.S. to forge a new relationship in accordance with the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace and prosperity. The two countries will also join efforts to build a lasting and stable regime of peace on the Korean Peninsula. In the joint statement, North Korea vowed to reaffirm its commitment to work toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Both Pyeongyang and Washington also vowed to recover remains of prisoners of war, including the immediate repatriation of those already identified in the joint statement.

Upon appearing at the signing ceremony venue together, the two leaders expressed satisfaction on the outcome of the summit.

President Trump said that the summit has gone “better than anybody could imagine” and “I think both sides will be very impressed with the result.”

He also said that the U.S. and North Korea had “formed a very special bond” and that the relationship with North Korea would now be “very different.”

The U.S. leader added that, “People are going to be very impressed and people are going to be very happy and we are going to take care of a very dangerous problem for the world.”

North Korean leader Kim also emphasized the significance of the joint statement by saying that the two leaders held a “historic meeting and signed an important document today.”

Kim said, “The world will see a major change,” while expressing gratitude to President Trump for making an effort for the summit.




arete@korea.kr