By Lee Hana and Kim Young Shin

Presidential Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok, who's leading the summit preparation committee, briefed the press on progress made so far for the historic summit, at Cheong Wa Dae on April 17.

“We already have the framework completed, and we've gone through it three times with President Moon Jae-in,” said Im regarding the South-North joint declaration, which may be called the April 27 Declaration or the Panmunjeom Declaration. “It will be reviewed at high-level talks, and final revisions and agreements will be made at the summit.”

Im also explained the significance of the upcoming meeting.

"This is the first time an Inter-Korean Summit is held at the Panmunjeom truce village, and it is also the first time that a North Korea leader will visit the South,” he said. "We're focusing on whether or not this may lead to continual practical meetings that would work on important agenda items.”

He emphasized that, “The upcoming Inter-Korean summit is particularly significant because it may lead to a summit between North Korea and the United States, and possibly to a multilateral meeting among the two Koreas and the United States.”

“The upcoming summit will only concentrate on the core subjects,” he clarified. “The complete denuclearization and settling a permanent peace could lead to a groundbreaking improvement in international relations and could be a starting point to an improved relationship with South Korea, as well as with the U.S. and countries neighboring the Korean Peninsula.”

Im also said that discussions regarding protocol, security and communications are almost settled, and that the National Intelligence Service is also engaged in communications with the North. He said that they are discussing whether they are going to broadcast the summit live.

According to Im, issues such as the places to visit on the actual date of the summit and whether to hold a joint press conference are going to be debated until the last minute.

hlee10@korea.kr