DPRK and ROK to hold leaders' summit on April 27

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The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) will hold a leaders' summit on April 27 amid global attention over whether the historic meeting could help improve ties between the two countries, and expedite the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

ROK President Moon Jae-in and DPRK leader Kim Jong Un will meet in the Peace House on the southern side of the border village of Panmunjom, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing a joint statement announced after talks between high-level officials from both sides were held Thursday on the northern side of Panmunjom.

The upcoming meeting will mark the third inter-Korean summit since the first two were held respectively in 2000 and 2007 in Pyongyang.

"Over the past 80 days, there have been many dramatic events that have not been seen earlier," the DPRK's chief delegate Ri Son Gwon was quoted as saying at the talks by Yonhap. He expressed hopes for an outcome that would meet the "hope and desire of the nation."

ROK Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyun (L) talks with his DPRK counterpart Ri Son Gwon (R), who is chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, during their meeting at the Unification Pavilion building on the northern side of the border truce village of Panmunjom on March 29, 2018. /VCG Photo‍

Cho Myoung-gyon, Seoul's Unification Minister and one of the three South Korean delegates in Thursday's talks, noted in response that the April summit is expected to be "another start of a great journey to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, bring peace to the peninsula and develop inter-Korean ties."

Both sides also agreed to hold talks next Wednesday to discuss protocol and security in preparation for the planned summit.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R2) and his wife Peng Liyuan (R1) meet with DPRK leader Kim Jong Un (L2) and his wife Ri Sol Ju (L1) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing during Kim's visit to China from March 25 to 28, 2018. /Xinhua Photo

The decision by high-level officials from both sides came after Kim's visit to Beijing for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of his planned meetings with Moon, and US President Donald Trump in the coming months.

Kim's trip to Beijing, which is his first known foreign visit and the first meeting with a head of state since becoming DPRK leader in 2011, has been welcomed by the ROK side.

"We believe China's participation in dialogue for peace on the Korean Peninsula, realized by the recent summit, will help stabilize conditions on the Korean Peninsula," said Kim Eui-kyeom, spokesman for the ROK presidential office Blue House.

President Xi's special envoy Yang Jiechi is now on a two-day visit to ROK, with China-ROK ties and the situation on the Korean Peninsula on the agenda. 

Yang is expected to meet Seoul's presidential national security director Chung Eui-yong on Thursday before meeting President Moon on Friday.