Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in agree to denuclearise Korean peninsula: Highlights of the Panmunjeom Declaration

North Korean premier Kim Jong-un, in a historic summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, agreed to end a six-decade-long war and vowed to denuclearise the Korean peninsula. Leaders of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) held an Inter-Korean Summit Meeting at the ‘Peace House’ at Panmunjeom on 27 April, 2018. In an event keenly watched by the whole world, including 80 million Korean people, the two leaders declared that there a new era of peace has begun as they vowed to deepen people-to-people interaction amid the two Koreas. Here are the highlights of what the two Korean leaders have committed to in the ‘ Panmunjeom Declaration ’: South and North Korea will: 1) Reconnect the blood relations of the people and bring forward the future of co-prosperity and unification led by Koreans ie hold reunions of separated families on the occasion of Liberation Day on 15 August 2) Establish a joint liaison office in Kaesong to smoothly ensure civil-sector exchanges and cooperation 3) Bring forth the watershed moment for the improvement of inter-Korean relations by fully implementing all existing agreements and declarations adopted so far 4) Hold dialogue and negotiations in various fields including at high level, and to take active measures for the implementation of this agreement ie reaffirm the non-aggression agreement and work together to strictly observe it 5) Encourage more active cooperation, exchanges, visits and contacts at all levels in order to rejuvenate the sense of national reconciliation and unity 6) Demonstrate their collective wisdom, talents, and solidarity by jointly participating in international sports events such as the 2018 Asian Games 7) Take practical steps to utilise the Donghae and Gyeongui railways and other roads by connecting and modernising them 8) Completely suspend all hostile acts on land, sea and air against each other and work together to make the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) an actual peace zone 9) Make the western Northern Limit Line (NLL) a sea of peace to prevent accidental military clashes, and take actual measures to guarantee safe fishing activities 10) Work together to realise phased arms reduction in line with tension reduction and confidence building ie to carry out disarmament in a phased manner 11) Reaffirm the shared goal of realising a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula through the complete denuclearisation 12) Actively push to hold three-way talks, involving the United States, or four-way talks, the US and China, to declare an end to the Korean War, change the armistice into a peace treaty and establish a lasting, solid peace regime 13) Actively implement the projects previously agreed in the 4 October, 2007 Declaration, in order to promote balanced economic growth and co-prosperity 14) To take various military measures to ensure active mutual cooperation, exchanges, visits and contacts. Will hold frequent meetings between military authorities, including the Defence Ministers Meeting, in order to immediately discuss and solve military issues that arise between them. First such talk to take place at the rank of army generals in May. Apart from this, the two leaders also mutually committed to frequently and earnestly discuss crucial issues regarding Korean people and solidify mutual trust through regular summits and direct telephone calls. They also agreed to make joint efforts to further expand the good move towards the continued development of inter-Korean ties and reunification. And most importantly, the leaders agreed to facilitate continuous mutual discourse through the recently established hotline. President Moon is scheduled to visit Pyongyang later this year in autumn to drive the peace agenda forward.