Kim, Moon head to North Korea’s sacred volcano on final day

Associated Press

PYONGYANG, North Korea

The two Korean leaders took to the road for the final day of their summit Thursday, heading to a beautiful volcano considered sacred in the North and used in its propaganda to legitimize the Kims’ three generations of rule. Their trip followed a day of wide-ranging agreements they trumpeted as a major step toward peace on the Korean Peninsula.

However, their premier accord on the issue most fascinating and worrisome – the North’s pursuit of nuclear-tipped missiles that can accurately strike the U.S. mainland – contained a big condition: Kim Jong Un stated he would permanently dismantle North Korea’s main nuclear complex only if the United States takes unspecified corresponding measures.

Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in flew separately to an airport near Mount Paektu this morning where they met up and drove to the mountain on the North Korean-Chinese border. Members of the Kim family are referred to as sharing the “Paektu Bloodline.”

Moon plans to return to South Korea later today, but the leaders are still basking in the glow of the joint statement they settled Wednesday. Compared to the vague language of their two earlier summits, Kim and Moon seem to have agreed on an ambitious program meant to tackle soaring tensions last year that had many fearing war as the North tested a string of increasingly powerful weapons.

Kim promised to accept international inspectors to monitor the closing of a key missile test site and launch pad and to visit Seoul soon, and both leaders vowed to work together to try to host the Summer Olympics in 2032.