By Pyeongyang Press Corps

President Moon Jae-in has resolutely confirmed two agreements by North Korea after his three-day visit to Pyeongyang: its resolute willingness for denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and the resumption of the stalemated U.S.-North Korea talks.

Speaking in a public briefing on Sept. 20 immediately following his wrap-up of the Pyeongyang visit, President Moon said that, “North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un has repeatedly shown his firm commitment to peninsular denuclearization. He hoped that complete denuclearization could be achieved as soon as possible and that, instead, the North could now place its utmost focus on economic development.” The public briefing took place at the main press center in Seoul.

"Arguing that the four items upon which the U.S. and North Korea agreed in Singapore must be implemented together, and that Washington should take corresponding measures in accordance with those agreements, Chairman Kim expressed his willingness to continue to take additional measures, such as the permanent dismantlement of the nuclear facilities in Yeongbyeon," President Moon said.

Answering journalists who asked him to specify the meaning of “corresponding measures,” President Moon said, “If Pyeongyang acts on denuclearization and Washington accordingly ends its hostility toward it, and turns to new measures for a better relationship with it, the North would be willing to accelerate its denuclearization process. That’s what Pyeongyang means in the Pyeongyang Declaration.”

In order to expedite the process, President Moon said that, "Chairman Kim also expressed his hopes to see U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visit Pyeongyang, that there be another summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, and that they both take place as soon as possible."



The president said that one of the most significant fruits that the Pyeongyang Summit bore is the “Agreement on the Implementation of the Historic Panmunjeom Declaration in the Military Domain.”

“If this agreement is carried out properly, it would then possibly lead to discussions about reducing military weapons and troops that are threatening to both sides,” the president said. “This agreement would make it possible not only to bring an end to the state of war at which the two Koreas are, technically, but also to eliminate any possibility of any future war, in principle.”

He then outlined oral agreements made between the two leaders that didn’t make it into the official declaration. They included jointly hosting inter-Korean parliamentary talks in the near future, vitalizing exchanges between local governments in both Koreas, listing the North’s confiscation of South Korean assets in a meeting for reunions of families separated by the Korean War, and Pyeongyang’s participation in an exhibition to mark the 1,100th anniversary of the establishment of Goryeo.

Citing memorable moments during his time in Pyeongyang, such as warm welcomes from people there, the first-ever speech as a South Korean leader in front of around 150,000 Pyeongyang residents, and an early-morning walk near the Cheonji crater lake atop Baekdusan Mountain, President Moon stressed that, “Peace is a long-cherished wish for us all here living in the region. We’ll be with the people on this journey toward accomplishing that wish.”