ROK, DPRK hold second summit at Panmunjom

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00:45

The leaders of the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) held a second summit at Panmunjom on Saturday afternoon, reported Yonhap citing Cheong Wa Dae.

ROK President Moon Jae-in met with DPRK leader Kim Jong Un at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) from 3 to 5 p.m. local time.

ROK President Moon Jae-in shakes hands with DPRK leader Kim Jong Un during their summit at the truce village of Panmunjom, DPRK, in this handout picture provided by the presidential Blue House, May 26, 2018. /Reuters Photo

"The two leaders exchanged their opinions candidly to implement the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration and to have a successful DPRK-US summit," Moon's chief press secretary Yoon Young-chan said.

Moon will announce the outcome of his two-hour meeting with Kim on Sunday morning, officials said.

05:27

The unannounced meeting at the Panmunjom border village between Moon and Kim came a month after they held the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade at the same venue and declared they would work toward a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.

"This is a really positive surprise. Moon Jae-in just returned from Washington and there should be some important messages from Donald Trump," Teng Jianqun, director of the American Studies Department at the China Institute of International Studies told CGTN.

"Today's summit between the ROK and the DPRK is just a continual good momentum for the peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula," he added.

Teng also stressed that Kim Jong Un has already "changed the direction" from nuclear tests to domestic development, and this is an important background to the big news that have happened these past few days.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Washington was having "productive talks" with Pyongyang about reinstating the June 12 meeting, just a day after cancelling it.

Trump said in a Twitter post late on Friday: "We are having very productive talks about reinstating the Summit which, if it does happen, will likely remain in Singapore on the same date, June 12, and, if necessary, will be extended beyond that date."