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Tensions on the Korean Peninsula

North, South Korean leaders sign joint document following bilateral meeting

The leaders of the two states put their signatures under the document and shook hands

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un Korea Broadcasting System via AP

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un

© Korea Broadcasting System via AP

SEOUL, September 19. /TASS/. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in signed a joint document following their talks in Pyongyang on Wedensday.

The ceremony was broadcast live by the Seoul-based press center of the international summit. It was held in the Paekhwawon villa and conference facility for high-ranking guests, where Moon Jae-in is staying during his visit to Pyongyang.

The leaders of the two states put their signatures under the document and shook hands.

The South Korean president said the two states have agreed on measures to defuse tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

"South and North agreed to turn the demilitarized border zone into the zone of peace and prosperity," he said.

Among other measures to ease tensions, the South Korean leader named an agreement to set up a joint committee comprising members of the two states’ top brass.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un also told reporters at a joint news conference with his South Korean counterpart that "the Pyongyang declaration will open a new era of prosperity and peace for both Koreas."

He described the talks as "very substantive."

According to the North Korean leader, a comprehensive military deal, signed by the two states’ defense ministers during the summit, will contribute to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

The inter-Korean summit, the fifth in history and the third this year, began in Pyongyang on September 18 and will end on September 20. The first round of talks between the leaders of North and South Korea within the framework of the ongoing summit took place on Tuesday and lasted two hours.

Two rounds of inter-Korean talks were held in Pyongyang in 2000 and 2007.

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Situation on the Korean Peninsula

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