On Sept. 19, U.S. President Donald Trump revealed his strong interest in the September Pyeongyang Joint Declaration, wherein the two Korean leaders agreed to denuclearization measures for the first time.  President Moon Jae-in and his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un announced the September Pyeongyang Joint Declaration earlier that day on the second day of their three-day Inter-Korean Summit Pyeongyang. After the announcement of the joint declaration, President Trump said on his personal Twitter feed that, “Kim Jong Un has agreed to allow Nuclear inspections, subject to final negotiations, and to permanently dismantle a test site and launch pad in the presence of international experts.” 

President Moon Jae-in and North Korean Chairman of the State Affairs Commission Kim Jong Un have jointly adopted the September Pyeongyang Joint Declaration that offers a new vision of the future for the two Koreas. It came on Sept. 19 after two sessions of the 2018 Inter-Korean Summit Pyeongyang.  The Pyeongyang declaration outlines the bigger picture and the overall framework for what are expected to be the three top agenda items: the improvement of the inter-Korean relationship, the acceleration of North Korea-U.S. dialogue on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and the easing of military tension between the South and the North.  The South and North Korean leaders acknowledged that last April’s Panmunjeom Declaration has been faithfully carried out, and then they agreed on complete denuclearization and an end to military hostility that has long plagued the Korean Peninsula. 

President Moon Jae-in and North Korea’s State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong Un made a toast to “the 80 million people in South and North, may we all become one” during the welcome banquet at the Mokrangwan state guesthouse in Pyeongyang on Sept. 18.  “The complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and settling peace are important agenda items,” said President Moon. “To solve these issues, Chairman Kim and I will put our heads and hearts together.”  “We will make developments in our cooperation on all fields, including the military, the economy, society and the arts, and discuss ways to rid us of the military tension and of the fear of war on the Korean Peninsula,” said the president.