Korean leaders meet for surprise second summit

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL

The leaders of North and South Korea held their second summit in a month Saturday, taking onlookers by surprise following a cooling of inter-Korean ties during the past fortnight.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in travelled to the North Korean side of Panmunjom border village to meet his counterpart Kim Jong-un for two hours during the afternoon, according to Moon's chief press secretary Yoon Young-chan.

"The two leaders exchanged their candid views on the implementation of the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration and successful opening of the North-U.S. summit," Yoon said in a statement carried by Yonhap News Agency.

Any specific outcomes are set to be explained by Moon himself during a Sunday morning press briefing, after he already secured Kim's vow to denuclearize and pursue a peace agreement last month.

The meeting between the Korean leaders -- who were photographed in a warm embrace -- was the fourth inter-Korean summit ever, with the first two taking place in 2000 and 2007 respectively.

It was kept secret even as a spokesperson for Seoul's presidential office had addressed the media earlier Saturday welcoming President Donald Trump's U-turn barely a day after cancelling his own planned June 12 summit with Kim.

The American president apparently changed his mind after the North's regime issued a positive statement Friday morning demonstrating its willingness to hold dialogue.

Saturday's unheralded summit was all the more remarkable because the North broke off inter-Korean dialogue earlier this month due to the South's military exercises with the U.S. among other complaints.

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL

The leaders of North and South Korea held their second summit in a month Saturday, taking onlookers by surprise following a cooling of inter-Korean ties during the past fortnight.

Any specific outcomes are set to be explained by Moon himself during a Sunday morning press briefing, after he already secured Kim's vow to denuclearize and pursue a peace agreement last month.

The meeting between the Korean leaders -- who were photographed in a warm embrace -- was the fourth inter-Korean summit ever, with the first two taking place in 2000 and 2007 respectively.

The American president apparently changed his mind after the North's regime issued a positive statement Friday morning demonstrating its willingness to hold dialogue.