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North Korean Leader Makes Historic Visit To South Korea


South Korea's President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet for a third summit in Pyongyang. South Korea’s Moon Jae-in arrived in Pyongyang for an historic three-day summit on Tuesday, greeted by tens of thousands of North Koreans chanting “unification” and a display of goose-stepping soldiers. Mr Moon and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un met each other with hugs and smiles for the cameras, before travelling together in an open-top limousine to hold around two hours of formal talks. The visit marks the first time a South Korean president has visited Pyongyang for more than a decade. It is the third set of talks between the two leaders since North Korea’s dramatic turn towards rapprochement with the South and the US earlier this year - and observers say it is also the most important. 


Pressure is on Mr Moon, both at home and abroad, to produce a tangible commitment from Mr Kim to denuclearise. Talks have stalled and the US is desperate to see some progress on the vague promises made at Mr Kim’s Singapore summit with Donald Trump back in June, lest it become no more than a fruitless photo opportunity. Mr Moon also has his own agenda, seeing improved inter-Korean relations as an opportunity for business growth at a time when he is suffering all-time low approval ratings over South Korea’s faltering economy. He has travelled to Pyongyang accompanied by business tycoons including Samsung scion Lee Jae-yong. All major cross-border business projects are currently stalled because of US-led sanctions.








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