North Korea‘s state media reported Saturday that the inter-Korean summit declaration included “complete denuclearization,” a rare public mention of the phrase that raised hopes of joint efforts toward the hitherto elusive goal.

“North and South Korea affirmed the common goal of realizing a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula through complete denuclearization,” the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

“Sharing the understanding that the measures led and taken by the North and South are very meaningful, significant ones for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, (the two sides) agreed to fulfill their respective responsibilities and roles going forward,” it added. 


South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a historic summit south of the Military Demarcation Line at the truce village of Panmunjom on Friday after years of heightened military tensions.

Codifying the denuclearization phrase in the so-called Panmunjom Declaration was hailed as a key achievement from the third cross-border summit, but skeptics pointed to the absence of detailed procedures to achieve the goal.

In a separate article, the North‘s media outlet said the declaration will mark a “new milestone” in joint efforts for co-prosperity and independent reunification.

At the summit, the two leaders agreed to halt all hostile acts against each other, seek a peace regime, enhance high-level communication, hold the reunions of separated families on the occasion of the Aug. 15 Liberation Day and meet again in Pyongyang this fall, among other things. (Yonhap)