ROK, DPRK to hold talks for summit preparation on August 13

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The Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) agreed to hold high-level talks next Monday at the border village of Panmunjom, according to Seoul's unification ministry on Thursday.

High-level talks to be held at Tongilgak

The DPRK offered to hold the senior-level dialogue with the ROK at Tongilgak, a DPRK building in Panmunjom, to implement the Panmunjom Declaration, according to reports.

Kim Jong Un poses with Moon Jae-in for a photo inside the Peace House at the border village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone, April 27, 2018. /AP Photo

The talks will discuss a new summit between ROK President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un, and focus on the implementation of the declaration, which was signed by the two leaders at their first summit on April 27 in Panmunjom.

Inter-Korean summit on the way

The DPRK side proposed to discuss preparations for the next inter-Korean summit meeting, which Moon and Kim had agreed to hold in Pyongyang this fall, during the upcoming high-level talks between the two Koreas.

The ROK's delegation will be led by Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, the Unification Ministry said.

Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in cross the borderline at the border village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone, April 27, 2018. /AP Photo

The ministry said the ROK plans to have an in-depth discussion with the DPRK side about how to successfully hold the inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang and ways to speed up the implementation of the Panmunjom Declaration.

Seoul's media speculated that another inter-Korean summit to facilitate the denuclearization process of the Korean Peninsula might be held as soon as as late August or early September.

Commemorative medals for the inter-Korean summit between Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in are displayed during its unveiling ceremony in Seoul, July 16, 2018. /AP Photo

The ministry noted that the ROK government will do everything it can to speedily implement the declaration via continued dialogue and cooperation, while pursuing a sustainable development in inter-Korean relations and building a permanent peace regime on the peninsula.

The Panmunjom Declaration

The Panmunjom Declaration is composed of three main themes: The establishment of a peaceful regime, efforts to ease military tensions, and co-prosperity and unification of the two countries.

A displayed photo shows Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in raising their hands after signing a joint statement at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone, April 27, 2018. /AP Photo

In this document, the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to realizing a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula via complete denuclearization.

During the historic summit in April, Moon and Kim also agreed to actively push for talks involving the ROK, the DPRK, China and the US, to discuss establishing a permanent, firm peace on the peninsula with a view to declaring an end to the 1950-1953 Korean War and to turn the armistice agreement into a peace treaty this year.

The Korean Armistice Agreement was signed on July 27, 1953. Ending the current abnormal armistice and establishing peace on the peninsula is a historical mission that cannot be delayed any more, the document said.

(With input from Xinhua News Agency)