North and South Korea are to told their first summit for a decade next month – ahead of an expected meeting between Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump in May.
The announcement comes after the North Korean leader reportedly said he was “committed to denuclearisation” during a visit to China.
A date for the summit of 27 April was revealed by South Korean officials following talks with their North Korean counterparts at the border village of Panmunjom.
The high-level meeting – only the third ever between the two countries – was pencilled in earlier this month when South Korean President Moon Jae-in sent a delegation to Pyongyang to meet Mr Kim.
There will be a prior meeting on 4 April to plan issues such as security and staffing support.
Mr Kim and Mr Trump are then set to hold talks after trading a series of insults during the last year.
The North Korean leader’s willingness to engage with both South Korea and the US has led to speculation that meetings with other leaders could be on the cards.
Japan has approached the North Korean government about a bilateral summit, the Asahi newspaper reported.
After his meeting with Mr Kim, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Beijing would uphold its friendship with North Korea.
Mr Trump said on Twitter that he had received a message from Mr Xi, who said his meeting with Kim “went very well”, adding that Kim looked forward to meeting the American President.
Tensions between the two Koreas have eased recently. The Winter Olympics, held in the South, were attended by Mr Kim’s sister, while the North sent athletes to the Games.
North and South Korea are technically still at war because their conflict between 1950 and 1953 ended with a ceasefire rather than a truce.
From – SkyNews
