"At least this summit will lay the foundation to start sincerest discussions on how to put a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula," Ambassador Kim said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - South Korea expects that the upcoming inter-Korean summit to be held in 27 April would lay a foundation to end the Korean War and to establish permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Ambassador of the Republic of South Korea to Indonesia Kim Chang-beom during a luncheon with journalists here on Thursday revealed that to build a permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula would be a long process.

"At least this summit will lay the foundation to start sincerest discussions on how to put a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula," Ambassador Kim said.

Both leaders of South and North Korea are expected to meet at the Peace House in the truce village of Panmunjeom in the Korean Demilitarization Zone on April 27. It will be the first Korean leaders` summit since 2007.

However, the agenda of the summit meeting is still under discussion but there are three main items to be on the table, Kim said.

The first is the denuclearization issue, how to resolve the issues of North Korean nuclear development together with their balistic launch capability.

Nuclear weapon North Korea is developing is seen to be a threat not only to the Korean Peninsula but also to every part of the world that might endanger the global stability and prosperity.

Without any progress in the denuclearization there may not be any improved relations between North and South Korea as well as with the United States, Kim said.

Second important matter is how to establish permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula including easing the military tension.

Both North and South Korea technically are still at war after signing the Armistice Agreement in 1953.

"We have to transform this unstable peace into a stable permanent peace," Kim said.

The third agenda will be how to improve relations between North and South Korea.

However, the future of the inter-korean relations will depend upon what kind of progress they gain from discussion on denuclearization and other important issues during the summit.

"We are open to discuss an array of issues related to inter-Korean relations like exchange cooperation and humanitarian issue like the reunion of separated families after the war," Kim said.

The April 27 summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is scheduled to take place in the border village of Panmunjom.

What South Korea hopes from the summit is that this summit will be well making progresses and then it will be followed by a summit between US president Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un expected to take place in late May or early June this year.

To North Korea, South Korea has clearly stated its position.

On one hand, South Korea will pursue diplomatic resolutions of North Korean nuclear issue toward complete denuclearization through carrying forward the momentum of dialogs for further development of inter-Korean relations.

On the other hand, it emphasized that sanctions will remain in place until North Korea undertakes steps for denuclearization.

What will North Korea gain by giving up their nuclear ambition, then?

A South Korean foreign ministry official met by Antara in Seoul Korea in March conveyed that the North cannot do anything productive with nuclear weapon. Instead, it can only gain sanction and isolation.

If North Korea gives up, "we, together with international community, will provide bright future," the official said.

(T.A059/A/KR-BSR/A014)

Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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