N. Korea Signs 'Very Exciting Deal'

It includes missile site shutdown, joint Olympic bid
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 19, 2018 4:02 AM CDT
N. Korea Agrees to Shut Down Missile Sites
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shake hands during a joint press conference at the Paekhwawon State Guesthouse in Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018.   (Pyongyang Press Corps Pool via AP)

The leaders of the two Koreas have signed what President Trump calls a "very exciting" agreement on the second day of a three-day summit in Pyongyang. South Korean President Moon Jae-in announced in a joint press conference with Kim Jong Un that they had agreed to turn the peninsula into a "land of peace without nuclear weapons," the Guardian reports. Moon said Kim had agreed to permanently close the Tongchang-ri missile launch facility in the presence of international experts, reports the BBC. The Yongbyon nuclear site could also be closed, depending on "reciprocal action" from the US. The leaders also agreed to file a joint bid to host the 2032 Summer Olympics.

Trump praised the agreement in a tweet. Kim 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," he said. "In the meantime there will be no Rocket or Nuclear testing. Hero remains to continue being returned home to the United States." Analysts described the agreement as a small step in the right direction. "Remember that North Korea is still taking baby steps," Melissa Hanham at the James Martin Centre for Nonproliferation Studies tells Reuters. "We don't have a timeline, and we also don’t have any guarantees about the larger nuclear and missile programs." (More North Korea stories.)

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