
SEOUL, South Korea, AP, April 5, 2018 – The rival Koreas held preparatory talks Thursday for a summit later this month between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in amid a global diplomatic push to resolve tensions over the North’s nuclear program.
The meeting of working-level officials at the border village of Panmunjom was to discuss security, protocol and media coverage issues for the planned April 27 summit. South Korea’s presidential Blue House said the two sides agreed not to disclose the contents of the discussions until a final agreement is reached.
The Koreas agreed on the date for the summit after a high-level meeting last week. South Korean officials have said the summit will focus on North Korea’s nuclear disarmament, although the North hasn’t confirmed this through its state-run media.
A separate summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump is anticipated by the end of May.
The two Koreas agreed Thursday to hold another preparatory meeting to work out the details of the April 27 summit, which is to take place in the South Korea-controlled side of the border village, Panmunjom. The Koreas will need to agree on how Kim will arrive at the venue, and there has been media speculation that he would cross the military demarcation line that bisects the Koreas by foot in a symbolic gesture. The Koreas also need to determine how many times he and Moon would meet that day and whether parts of the meetings would be broadcast on live television.
The Koreas have held only two summits since the 1950-53 Korean War.