By Pyeongyang Press Corps

President Moon Jae-in and North Korea’s Chairman of State Affairs Commission Kim Jong Un will hold meetings in Pyeongyang from Sept. 18 to 20. The key issues of the 2018 Inter-Korean Summit Pyeongyang will be the improvement of the inter-Korean relationship, the acceleration of North Korea-U.S. dialogue on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and the easing of military tension between the South and the North.

Presidential Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok, the head of the 2018 Inter-Korean Summit Preparation Committee, spoke to the press at the main press center for the summit, at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul on Sept. 17. He outlined the detailed schedule for the Pyeongyang summit.

On the first day of the summit, Sept. 18, President Moon will leave Seoul Airport at 8:40 a.m. and arrive at Pyeongyang Sunan International Airport at 10 a.m. North Korea will host an official welcoming ceremony at the airport.

The two Korean leaders will have a luncheon together and then hold a meeting. After the summit, there will be art performances and a welcome banquet.

On Sept. 19, a second set of meetings will be held in the morning.

“Agreements are expected to be made on the military sector, which could ease military tensions and prevent armed conflict, but there are some items that need to be discussed,” said Im. “We are expecting a joint press briefing after the morning summit that day.”

The luncheon on the second day will be at the famous Okryugwan restaurant in Pyeongyang. According to Im, the summit may continue in the afternoon. A farewell dinner will be held afterward.

During the summit, the issue of war-separated families that were torn apart after the Korean War (1950-1953) will be discussed, in addition to the three key items.

“The leaders will discuss ways to provide fundamental solutions to heal the pain of the war-separated families,” said Im.

President Moon will return home on Sept. 20 after an official farewell at the airport.

First lady Kim Jung-sook will visit a children’s hospital, a music school and the Mangyongdae Children’s Palace in North Korea’s capital.

The government officials that will be visiting Pyeongyang alongside President Moon are to meet the North Korean president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, a business entourage, and the vice-premier of the North Korean Cabinet.

“This is the third inter-Korean summit of 2018, and it is regularizing meetings between the leaders of the South and the North,” said Im. “Unlike past summits, it will focus on direct and practical dialogue between the two leaders.”

ysk1111@korea.kr