Visit to Seoul

[Anchor Lead]

When announcing a joint statement on Wednesday, the North Korean leader made a surprise announcement regarding his decision to visit Seoul. President Moon said that Kim will visit the South Korean capital within this year.

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Announcing the joint statement of the third inter-Korean summit, the leaders of South and North Korea said the venue of their next meeting will be none other than Seoul.

[Soundbite] Kim Jong-un(N. Korean Chairman) : "I have promised President Moon to visit Seoul in the near future."

If Kim's visit does materialize, he will become the first North Korean leader since the end of the Korean War to visit the South. Former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il had once promised to visit Seoul during his meeting with President Kim Dae-jung back in 2000, but he was not able to keep his promise. President Moon added that the phrase "in the near future" mentioned by Kim literally means "within this year."

[Soundbite] Pres. Moon Jae-in : "The phrase "near future" hereby means "within this year" barring certain circumstances."

Here, "certain circumstances" refers to failure to create conditions for signing a peace treaty among South and North Korea and the United States, or among the two Koreas, the U.S. and China, as well as signs of no progress in the stalled denuclearization process. Observers say this means that the two leaders have discussed in-depth how to achieve tangible and speedy progress in denuclearization.

[Soundbite] Hong Min(Korea Institute for National Unification) : "This probably means that North Korea's denuclearization message to the U.S. is largely trustworthy and credible."

Whether or not Kim visits Seoul within this year will likely depend on the outcome of the South Korea-U.S. summit and the U.N. General Assembly slated for next week as well as the possibility of a second summit between the leaders of North Korea and the U.S. to achieve progress in denuclearization.