Koreas to meet: Kim Jong-un renews disarm vow

The leaders of the two Koreas will hold a summit in Pyongyang this month, Seoul said yesterday.

Troops practise for Sunday’s parade in Pyongyang. Picture: AP

The leaders of the two Koreas will hold a summit in Pyongyang this month, Seoul said yesterday, as Kim Jong-un renewed his commitment to the denuclearisation of the flashpoint peninsula.

The announcement of the September 18-20 summit — the third between the North’s Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in this year — comes as US ­efforts to dismantle Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal have stalled.

The two leaders will meet in the North Korean capital to discuss “practical measures to de­nuclearise” the peninsula, South Korean National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong said in Pyongyang after meeting Kim.

The two Koreas “should further their efforts to realise the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula”, Kim said.

“It is our fixed stand … to completely remove the danger of armed conflict and horror of war from the Korean peninsula and turn it into the cradle of peace without nuclear weapons and free from nuclear threat.”

The pledge comes after Donald Trump, frustrated with a lack of progress, last month cancelled Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s trip to Pyongyang after the North sent a belligerent letter to the US President.

China yesterday alleged that a lack of trust between the US and North Korea is holding up progress on the denuclearisation.

Ahead of Sunday’s celebrations in Pyongyang of the 70th ­anniversary of the founding of North Korea, China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the crux of the problem was a “lack of mutual respect between relevant parties … especially the US and North Korea”.

She said there had been “meaningful process” in the “situation on the Korean peninsula” .

China rejects suggestions from Mr Trump that it has not done enough to pressure Kim on the denuclearisation agreed at his summit with the US President in Singapore on June 12, and that it was not enforcing UN sanctions against the country.

In a visit to the border city of Dandong, the main thoroughfare for Chinese trade with North Korea, The Australian found the city’s economy had been hit hard by UN sanctions.

US sources argued that the illegal trade is occurring in the port of Longkou in Shandong province, south of Beijing, and across the Yellow Sea from North Korea.

US reports this week said North Korean cargo ships had been spotted in Longkou pulling into coal docks.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has opted out of this Sunday’s anniversary celebration as has Mr Moon. Sunday’s parade is expected to include a massive show of North Korea’s military strength.

China has sent its third-ranking communist party official, Li Zhanshu, to represent Mr Xi.

The North Korean leader has visited China three times this year. While Mr Xi has an open invitation to North Korea, he is believed to be holding off until there is progress made on denuclearis­ation. It is hoped the Kim-Moon summit could pave the way for some progress.

Additional reporting: AFP