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SPEECHES & REMARKS
BRIEFINGS
The following is a briefing given this morning by Im Jong-seok, Chair of the Inter-Korean Summit Preparation Committee.
From tomorrow, the third inter-Korean summit of this year will be held in Pyeongyang for two nights and three days. It carries an important significance in that talks between the two leaders are becoming regularized.
Let me begin with the official schedule of the inter-Korean summit. This schedule is subject to change in accordance with on-site consultations based on trust between the South and North.
On day one, tomorrow, September 18, President Moon Jae-in and his delegation will depart from Seoul Air Base in Seongnam at 8:40 in the morning. No separate event has been planned at the airport.
They are expected to arrive at Pyeongyang Sunan International Airport at 10:00 in the morning. An official welcoming ceremony will be held at the airport, and the first session of the inter-Korean summit will start after lunch.
During the summit, First Lady Kim Jung-sook will visit Okryu Children’s Hospital and the Kim Won Gyun University of Music. The members of the special delegation will meet with the President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, and the business leaders will have a meeting with the Vice-premier of the Cabinet.
After the first session of the summit, the delegation will attend a welcome art performance late in the afternoon, which will be followed by a welcome dinner.
On day two, September 19, an additional summit is scheduled for the morning.
During the summit, First Lady Kim Jung-sook and accompanying officials are expected to take a tour of Mangyongdae Schoolchildren's Palace.
If the morning summit proceeds smoothly, there is a possibility that a joint press conference could be held to announce what the two sides have agreed.
We also hope there might be an agreement in the military area about how to mitigate tension and prevent armed conflict between the South and North that has been discussed thus far, but it should also be noted that there are some pending issues.
The luncheon will be held at the Okryu Restaurant on the bank of the Daedonggang River. In the afternoon, President Moon and his delegation as well as the special delegation are scheduled to tour major facilities in Pyeongyang. Some members of the special delegation are likely to visit different facilities, depending on which organization they belong to. The advanced team now in Pyeongyang is in the process of fine-tuning the itinerary. Please note that, if the occasion warrants it, the summit meeting could continue into the afternoon.
A farewell banquet is planned for the evening. On his overseas trip, President Moon always visits a restaurant frequented by local residents, so we made a request to the North in this regard. Though it is not yet certain which restaurant the President will drop by, if it is possible, we hope that the President will be able to have a meal at a restaurant frequented by the citizens of Pyeongyang.
On September 20, an official lunch is not planned as there was the farewell banquet the day before. After a farewell ceremony at the airport, the President and his delegation will depart for Seoul before noon.
One thing to note is that, if the occasion demands on the last day, there could be an event for the two leaders to deepen their affinity. If so, the return schedule can be adjusted.
The two Koreas are currently engaged in consultations on the summit events, so there will be additional briefings whenever there are any changes to the schedule.
Next, I am going to briefly explain the agenda of the summit.
First is to improve and develop inter-Korean relations. Concerning this agenda item, the Panmunjeom Declaration, which has already been agreed upon, is the most important criterion. The two leaders will first review the implementation of the Declaration and, based on the outcome made so far, discuss the future directions for its sustainable and concrete progress.
Second is to mediate and facilitate the denuclearization talks between North Korea and the United States. The South will strive to help the North and the United States promptly resume sincere talks to newly establish peaceful relations to ensure that the North's advanced denuclearization is pursued in line with the corresponding measures by the United States.
The last is to put an end to military tension between the two Koreas and the threat of war. A comprehensive agreement is being pursued to alleviate military tension and build mutual trust between the two Koreas. We will strive to fundamentally resolve any possible military clashes and create conditions for a substantive peace settlement.
I would like to add that there will be a separate, in-depth discussion concerning how to address the pain of separated families at its root.
This wraps up my brief explanations about the schedule and agenda items. Now I am going to give my personal thoughts on the characteristics of the upcoming summit.
First is to broadcast some events live.
To the best of my knowledge, no event in Pyeongyang has been broadcast live so far. Yoon Young-chan, Senior Secretary to the President for Public Communication, underscored its importance but we held out little hope that our proposal for live broadcasts would be accepted by the North. Working-level discussions still have to be carried out to determine the extent of summit events to be covered live. We hope the welcoming ceremony at Sunan Airport and other major summit events will be broadcast live.
Five outdoor broadcast vans and two broadcasting teams already left for Pyeongyang yesterday. They will have to work together with the Korean Central Television, and now it is difficult to say how many events of the summit will be broadcast live.
In addition, this summit will put a heavy weight on direct and substantive dialogues between the two leaders. In brief comparisons with the inter-Korean summits in 2000 and 2007, at those times, there was a meeting between the South Korean President and Kim Yong Nam, President of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, on the first day of the summit, followed by a meeting between the South Korean President and Kim Jong Il, Chairman of the National Defense Commission, on the second day, in both cases. However, this is already the third inter-Korean summit between the two leaders, and what’s different this time is that all such formalities will be skipped and the two leaders will immediately have a summit on the first day. This is expected to be continued in any subsequent summits, and this is considered a critical difference.
Third, it is a little difficult to talk about the summit agenda. I already talked about developing inter-Korean relations and easing military tension. If a concrete and substantive agreement on easing military tension can be made, this in itself will not only definitively reduce the danger of military clashes but eliminate the risk of war, and it will also be very meaningful in promoting the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula going forward.
Finally, an important characteristic of this summit is, after all, that denuclearization is included on the agenda. We are getting used to this, so in a way, we are maybe becoming desensitized about it. There was never a case in which denuclearization was included on the agenda of the talks particularly between the two leaders during the past inter-Korean summits. As you already know, in the summit in 2000, the denuclearization issue had not surfaced yet like today, and in 2007, when President Roh Moo-hyun visited the North, the summit focused on practical issues between the two Koreas as there had already been agreements on denuclearization made at the Six-Party Talks. However, this time, the difficult issue of denuclearization is weighing on the summit. That’s why we are very cautious about this summit and, thus, it is difficult to make an optimistic forecast.
In fact, even in the recent past, the denuclearization issue was dealt with only by North Korea and the United States, and they weren’t happy about South Korea raising the denuclearization issue. However, now, denuclearization has become a very significant, central issue, and there are high expectations on this summit that substantial results could be produced, but the chances are very limited.
In fact, this is not an issue that can be discussed at working-level talks, and even if there were discussions on the issue, it would be difficult to reach an accord. We just don’t know what to expect in regards to what kinds of accords will be reached on making concrete progress on denuclearization. It will depend on how sincere the talks between the two leaders are, whether that issue can be included in a written agreement or whether there can be an oral agreement, if not a written agreement. A while ago, I said the summit will put a heavy weight on the talks between the two leaders because of these difficulties.
From tomorrow, the third inter-Korean summit of this year will be held in Pyeongyang for two nights and three days. It carries an important significance in that talks between the two leaders are becoming regularized.
Let me begin with the official schedule of the inter-Korean summit. This schedule is subject to change in accordance with on-site consultations based on trust between the South and North.
On day one, tomorrow, September 18, President Moon Jae-in and his delegation will depart from Seoul Air Base in Seongnam at 8:40 in the morning. No separate event has been planned at the airport.
They are expected to arrive at Pyeongyang Sunan International Airport at 10:00 in the morning. An official welcoming ceremony will be held at the airport, and the first session of the inter-Korean summit will start after lunch.
During the summit, First Lady Kim Jung-sook will visit Okryu Children’s Hospital and the Kim Won Gyun University of Music. The members of the special delegation will meet with the President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, and the business leaders will have a meeting with the Vice-premier of the Cabinet.
After the first session of the summit, the delegation will attend a welcome art performance late in the afternoon, which will be followed by a welcome dinner.
On day two, September 19, an additional summit is scheduled for the morning.
During the summit, First Lady Kim Jung-sook and accompanying officials are expected to take a tour of Mangyongdae Schoolchildren's Palace.
If the morning summit proceeds smoothly, there is a possibility that a joint press conference could be held to announce what the two sides have agreed.
We also hope there might be an agreement in the military area about how to mitigate tension and prevent armed conflict between the South and North that has been discussed thus far, but it should also be noted that there are some pending issues.
The luncheon will be held at the Okryu Restaurant on the bank of the Daedonggang River. In the afternoon, President Moon and his delegation as well as the special delegation are scheduled to tour major facilities in Pyeongyang. Some members of the special delegation are likely to visit different facilities, depending on which organization they belong to. The advanced team now in Pyeongyang is in the process of fine-tuning the itinerary. Please note that, if the occasion warrants it, the summit meeting could continue into the afternoon.
A farewell banquet is planned for the evening. On his overseas trip, President Moon always visits a restaurant frequented by local residents, so we made a request to the North in this regard. Though it is not yet certain which restaurant the President will drop by, if it is possible, we hope that the President will be able to have a meal at a restaurant frequented by the citizens of Pyeongyang.
On September 20, an official lunch is not planned as there was the farewell banquet the day before. After a farewell ceremony at the airport, the President and his delegation will depart for Seoul before noon.
One thing to note is that, if the occasion demands on the last day, there could be an event for the two leaders to deepen their affinity. If so, the return schedule can be adjusted.
The two Koreas are currently engaged in consultations on the summit events, so there will be additional briefings whenever there are any changes to the schedule.
Next, I am going to briefly explain the agenda of the summit.
First is to improve and develop inter-Korean relations. Concerning this agenda item, the Panmunjeom Declaration, which has already been agreed upon, is the most important criterion. The two leaders will first review the implementation of the Declaration and, based on the outcome made so far, discuss the future directions for its sustainable and concrete progress.
Second is to mediate and facilitate the denuclearization talks between North Korea and the United States. The South will strive to help the North and the United States promptly resume sincere talks to newly establish peaceful relations to ensure that the North's advanced denuclearization is pursued in line with the corresponding measures by the United States.
The last is to put an end to military tension between the two Koreas and the threat of war. A comprehensive agreement is being pursued to alleviate military tension and build mutual trust between the two Koreas. We will strive to fundamentally resolve any possible military clashes and create conditions for a substantive peace settlement.
I would like to add that there will be a separate, in-depth discussion concerning how to address the pain of separated families at its root.
This wraps up my brief explanations about the schedule and agenda items. Now I am going to give my personal thoughts on the characteristics of the upcoming summit.
First is to broadcast some events live.
To the best of my knowledge, no event in Pyeongyang has been broadcast live so far. Yoon Young-chan, Senior Secretary to the President for Public Communication, underscored its importance but we held out little hope that our proposal for live broadcasts would be accepted by the North. Working-level discussions still have to be carried out to determine the extent of summit events to be covered live. We hope the welcoming ceremony at Sunan Airport and other major summit events will be broadcast live.
Five outdoor broadcast vans and two broadcasting teams already left for Pyeongyang yesterday. They will have to work together with the Korean Central Television, and now it is difficult to say how many events of the summit will be broadcast live.
In addition, this summit will put a heavy weight on direct and substantive dialogues between the two leaders. In brief comparisons with the inter-Korean summits in 2000 and 2007, at those times, there was a meeting between the South Korean President and Kim Yong Nam, President of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, on the first day of the summit, followed by a meeting between the South Korean President and Kim Jong Il, Chairman of the National Defense Commission, on the second day, in both cases. However, this is already the third inter-Korean summit between the two leaders, and what’s different this time is that all such formalities will be skipped and the two leaders will immediately have a summit on the first day. This is expected to be continued in any subsequent summits, and this is considered a critical difference.
Third, it is a little difficult to talk about the summit agenda. I already talked about developing inter-Korean relations and easing military tension. If a concrete and substantive agreement on easing military tension can be made, this in itself will not only definitively reduce the danger of military clashes but eliminate the risk of war, and it will also be very meaningful in promoting the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula going forward.
Finally, an important characteristic of this summit is, after all, that denuclearization is included on the agenda. We are getting used to this, so in a way, we are maybe becoming desensitized about it. There was never a case in which denuclearization was included on the agenda of the talks particularly between the two leaders during the past inter-Korean summits. As you already know, in the summit in 2000, the denuclearization issue had not surfaced yet like today, and in 2007, when President Roh Moo-hyun visited the North, the summit focused on practical issues between the two Koreas as there had already been agreements on denuclearization made at the Six-Party Talks. However, this time, the difficult issue of denuclearization is weighing on the summit. That’s why we are very cautious about this summit and, thus, it is difficult to make an optimistic forecast.
In fact, even in the recent past, the denuclearization issue was dealt with only by North Korea and the United States, and they weren’t happy about South Korea raising the denuclearization issue. However, now, denuclearization has become a very significant, central issue, and there are high expectations on this summit that substantial results could be produced, but the chances are very limited.
In fact, this is not an issue that can be discussed at working-level talks, and even if there were discussions on the issue, it would be difficult to reach an accord. We just don’t know what to expect in regards to what kinds of accords will be reached on making concrete progress on denuclearization. It will depend on how sincere the talks between the two leaders are, whether that issue can be included in a written agreement or whether there can be an oral agreement, if not a written agreement. A while ago, I said the summit will put a heavy weight on the talks between the two leaders because of these difficulties.
