North Korea Wants "Substantive Outcome" After Talks with South

North and South Korea held a meeting on Monday to discuss the next steps in their pact to renew economic cooperation, with the North saying that it wanted a “substantive outcome” from the talks, against the backdrop of US concerns over their haste to warm ties.

The talks in the border village of Panmunjom were led by the South’s Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon and Ri Son Gwon, who is the chairman of the North’s committee for peaceful reunification that handles cross-border affairs.

“We are at a very critical moment for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and the advancement of inter-Korean relations, and there’s also a second North Korea-US summit coming up,” said Cho to reporters before departing for the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

Monday’s summit was intended to discuss follow-up steps after a third summit last month between South Korean President Moon Jae-In and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the South’s unification ministry stated.

Moon and Kim agreed to resume economic cooperation, including relinking railways and roads. North Korea also said that it would permanently abolish key missile facilities in the presence of foreign experts.

Speaking before Monday’s meeting, Cho said  that he and Ri would work to finalize the timetable for follow-on talks to last month’s summit, including a joint study for the rail and road initiative.

The talks should produce a “substantive outcome,” not just a “public relations effect,” Ri told reporters at the venue of the meeting.

The meeting comes amid US worries that the warming of ties between the neighboring Koreas may be outpacing negotiations to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.

A military deal between the North and South, which was endorsed by both Moon and Kim at their third summit, has provoked “discontent” from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, according to South Korea’s foreign minister last week.

Kang Kyung-wha’s remarks is tantamount to rare confirmation of a disconnect between Seoul and Washington, although the allies have said that they remain in lockstep on the North Korea question.

Ahead on Monday’s talks, South Korea banned a North Korean defector-turned-journalist from the press pool covering the event.

“I’m devastated,” said Kim Myong-sung of the Chosun Ilbo, which is a conservative South Korean newspaper, adding that he had been told of the decision just before he was about to depart for the DMZ. “It was an unacceptable decision they made unilaterally, which limits my activity as a journalist.”

The Unification Ministry spokesman said that the decision was made because the talks were held in a “confined space” and Kim was “widely well-known,” but added that there had been no pressure from North Korea.

North Korean defectors and human rights groups in the South say that they struggle to raise money and face pressure to avoid criticism of Pyongyang as cross-border relations warm up.

Want to become an investor/trader in the stock market? Fill yourself in on marketing news by subscribing to HQBroker. We encourage traders to know more about the latest information about forex, stock markets, commodities, and economies.