Kim Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in visited the spiritual birthplace of the Korean nation Thursday (Sep 20) for a show of unity after their North-South summit gave new momentum to Pyongyang's negotiations with Washington.
The North Korean leader on Wednesday agreed to shutter the Tongchang-ri missile-testing site in the presence of international observers, a move the US welcomed by saying it was ready for immediate talks aimed at denuclearising the North by January 2021.
Pyongyang also said it could dismantle its best-known nuclear facility at Yongbyon, if the US takes "corresponding measures", as Kim and the South Korean president held their third summit this year.
It is an important caveat, but the declaration appeared to break the logjam in nuclear discussions with Washington.
President Donald Trump welcomed the move, tweeting that Kim had "agreed to allow Nuclear inspections, subject to final negotiations", adding: "Very exciting!"
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (R) and South Korean President Moon Jae-in (C) talk during a lunch at the Okryukwan cold noodle restaurant in Pyongyang on Sep 19, 2018. (Photo: PYEONGYANG PRESS CORPS / AFP)
Kim Jong Un has agreed to allow Nuclear inspections, subject to final negotiations, and to permanently dismantle a test site and launch pad in the presence of international experts. In the meantime there will be no Rocket or Nuclear testing. Hero remains to continue being........
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 19, 2018
....returned home to the United States. Also, North and South Korea will file a joint bid to host the 2032 Olympics. Very exciting!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 19, 2018
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also praised the "important commitments", saying he spoke with his North Korean counterpart and invited him to meet next week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Washington was ready to "engage immediately in negotiations" to achieve the North's denuclearisation of North Korea by January 2021, he added - the end of Trump's first term.
The process had stalled after the historic Singapore summit between Trump and Kim in June, when Kim declared his backing for denuclearisation of the peninsula but no details were agreed.
Negotiations had stalled since the historic Singapore summit between Trump and Kim in June, when Kim declared his backing for denuclearisation of the peninsula but no details were agreed.
Washington and Pyongyang have subsequently sparred over what that means and how it will be achieved, with the Trump administration consistently referring to the denuclearisation of North Korea specifically.
For its part Pyongyang has condemned demands for its unilateral disarmament as "gangster-like".
Experts remain sceptical about the Tongchang-ri pledge, pointing out that Pyongyang has used several other locations for missile launches, repeatedly said it has no need for further testing, and closing the site would have no impact on its ability to manufacture rockets.
Many also believe that apart from Yongbyon, the North also has covert nuclear facilities.
"The North Koreans are offering gestures that mimic disarmament," arms control expert Jeffrey Lewis tweeted. "They don't meaningfully constrain North Korea's nuclear programme."
Their main purpose, he added, was "to appease Trump, so that Moon and Kim can keep their engagement alive".
"This is what an Israel-style deal looks like with North Korea: They pretend to disarm and we pretend to believe it."
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Moon and Kim have sought to strengthen the North-South relationship at their Pyongyang summit, agreeing that the North Korean leader will visit Seoul "at an early date".
It would be the first such trip by a North Korean leader since the Korean War ended in a 1953 armistice, leaving the peninsula divided by the Demilitarised Zone and technically still in a state of war, and Moon said the historic journey could happen later this year.
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