Seoul: The eyes of the world will be on Pyongyang on Tuesday as South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korea's Chairman Kim Jong-un are slated to meet for their third summit talks, seeking to accelerate the process of denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.
Prior to the third Inter-Korean Summit in 2018, the two leaders have met each other in April and May, both times in truce village of Panmunjom.
Moon has stressed that the South Korean government's role is "to find the point of agreement between the US and North Korea so that the two countries can accelerate conversation and speed up denuclearisation".
Although conflicts and confrontations have raged between the two Koreas across the DMZ (demilitarized zone) for over 65 years, an atmosphere of dialogue and exchange and cooperation was fostered temporarily between the two countries following the summits held in 2000 and 2007.
"The upcoming event is the first inter-Korean summit to be held in Pyeongyang in 11 years, since the summit in 2007," said Cheong Wa Dae (Blue House) spokesperson Kim Eui-kyeom. "President Moon Jae-in is fulfilling an item of the Panmunjeom Declaration in which he promised to visit Pyeongyang this fall."
It will also be the first time in 18 years for a president to visit the North Korea capital by plane, according to Korea Joongang Daily.
Preparations are in full swing for the summit to be held from September 18-20, titled '2018 Inter-Korean Summit Pyongyang' with the slogan 'Peace, A New Future'.
"The slogan conveys the Korean people's wish for South and North Korea to together bring a new future in this critical time where the Korean Peninsula is going through a historic change," Kim was quoted as saying by the Blue House.
The official image of the slogan was created with a brush on calligraphy paper. The image will be used to decorate the summit venues and various government publications.
The main press centre for the upcoming summit will be open at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul from September 16-21.
On September 13, President Moon had announced that the objectives of the upcoming third inter-Korean summit, are to develop and improve inter-Korean ties, and to accelerate and mediate US-North Korea talks, the Blue House had said in a statement.
"The inter-Korean relationship is proceeding faster than we expected," the president said.
He emphasised that during the upcoming summit his government will focus mainly on ending any fear about threats of war or worries about military clashes between the two Koreas, the statement said.
Concerning the US-North Korea relationship, the president had downplayed any pessimism, saying that the leaders of the two countries are building trust by continuously exchanging personal letters.
The results of the April 27 talks that took place in the Joint Security Area led to the Panmunjom Declaration that was adopted between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea).
The two Koreas fought a war in early 50s. Since the signing of the armistice agreement on the July 27, 1953, the Peninsula has remained divided.
South Korea in June had said that India could play an "important role" in working towards lasting peace in the Korean Peninsula as it urged New Delhi to persuade Pyongyang to recalculate its strategy to change its course to denuclearisation.
"India as the largest democracy plays quite an influential role in forming international opinion. And, if international opinion supports peace initiative of South Korea, it will back up our initiative very effectively," South Korea's Ambassador for Public Diplomacy Enna Park had said during her visit to New Delhi.
"Our government has started a bold journey towards peace process in Korean Peninsula. We ask for your (India's) wisdom and full support again," she had said.
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