04/26/2018, 10.31
KOREA
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The agenda is set on the eve of the inter-Korean summit

The two leaders will meet tomorrow at 9:30 local time. The negotiation together with some protagonists of the détente. A "pine tree" as a sign of peace and prosperity using the earth and water of the two Koreas. In South Korea, flags depicting Korea are flown.

Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Tomorrow, at 9:30 Seoul time, the two leaders Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in will meet on the border between the two Koreas, in the village of Panmunjom. It is the third inter-Korean summit since the 1950-53 Korean War, and the first in more than a decade and since Kim Jong-un took control of the country in 2011.

After the handshake televised live, Kim and Moon will sit at the oval table of the "Peace House", flanked by their entourage. Among the faces present, some are known to the diplomatic ferment of recent months: the South Korean president will be accompanied by the two officials received by Kim in Pyongyang, while alongside the young North Korean leader will also be present Kim Yong-nam, president of the Supreme Assembly of the people, and Kim's younger sister, Kim Yo-jong: the two had led the North’s delegation at the opening of the PyeongChang Olympics.

The denuclearization of the peninsula will be at the center of the dialogue and a necessary step to end the armistice in favor of "permanent peace" and the improvement of inter-Korean relations. Following the negotiations, the two leaders will have lunch on their own and will plant a pine tree as a sign of "peace and prosperity", using the land and water of both Koreas: from Mount Paektu on the northern border with China, and from the southern island of Jeju. It is possible that a "Panmunjom agreement" will be signed tomorrow and that Moon and Kim will issue a joint declaration.

Regarding denuclearization, and Kim Jong-un's recent promise to stop all nuclear and missile tests, a clarification is needed that could explain the North Korean leader's change of course. According to the recent discovery by some Chinese scientists, the underground Punggye-ri nuclear test site, located below the Mantap mountain, has partially collapsed and is therefore unusable. The collapse is due to earthquakes caused by the tests. The University of Science and Technology of China, author of one of the two studies, states on its site that it is "necessary to continue monitoring possible losses of radioactive material due to collapse".

Meanwhile, while the whole world is watching the village in the demilitarized area, in South Korea more and more "United Korea" flags are waving, already seen at the Olympics opening ceremony carried by Korean athletes, marching side by side . Throughout the country, local governments and civic groups raise the blue-white flags as a sign of hope for the success of the summit. In the city of Daejon, 615 buses have been driving the streets for two days, bearing the words: "South Korea and the North on their way to reunification hand in hand! Let's move on towards peace and prosperity! "

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