The two Koreas have agreed to hold a joint summit and set up a telephone hotline between their respective leaders. The North said it was willing to abandon its nuclear arsenal if its security is guaranteed.
Image: Reuters/Yonhap
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South Korea on Tuesday said it has agreed with North Korea to hold a joint summit in late April and to set up a telephone hotline between their leaders.
South Korea's presidential national security director, Chung Eui-yong, also said the North had agreed to abandon its nuclear weapons if military threats against the country were resolved and if it received a credible security guarantee.
The talks will take place at the Joint Security Area (JSA) in the Panmunjom border village and will be the first North-South summit in more than a decade.
Chung said Pyongyang agreed to halt tests of nuclear weapons and missiles if it holds talks with the US and that it was ready to have "heart-to-heart" talks with Washington.
The US talks would focus on potential denuclearization and the normalization of relations between Pyongyang and Washington.
"The North made clear its willingness for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, and made clear that there is no reason to own nuclear (programs) if military threats towards the North are cleared and the security of its regime is guaranteed," Chung said.
A warming of relations between the North and the South was highlighted during the winter OlympicsImage: Getty Images/AFP/A. Zhao
Envoys lay the groundwork
Five South Korean envoys, including security advisor Chung, met with North Korean leaders in Pyongyang on Monday to lay the groundwork for potential peace talks between the two neighbors and the US.
It was first time North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had met high-ranking officials from the South since taking office in 2011.
Kim reacted positively to the idea of a summit floated at the meeting, both sides said earlier Tuesday.
North Korea's state media KCNA said Kim expressed his desire to "write a new history of national reunification."
Both North Korea and the US have said they are willing to hold talks, but Washington's position has been that they must be aimed at North Korea's denuclearization.
ICBM threat and North Korea's overall military strength
For years, the international community downplayed the threat of North Korea's military power. With the test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, it is clear that Pyongyang's military capabilities are growing.
Image: Gettty Images/AFP/E. Jones
Major achievement
In early June 2017, North Korea test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time. Testing an ICBM marked a major military achievement for Pyongyang and a serious escalation of tensions with the United States and its allies in the region, particularly South Korea and Japan.
Image: Reuters/KCNA
Trouble with warheads
At the time, defense experts said the ICBM could reach as far as the US states of Alaska and Hawaii. However, it was unclear if North Korea can field an ICBM capable of carrying a nuclear warhead on its cone that could survive reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. North Korean state media claimed the ICBM was capable of carrying a "large, heavy nuclear warhead" to any part of the United States.
Image: Reuters/KCNA
Pyongyang's nuclear tests - six times and counting
The ICBM is believed to be a step forward in the North's nuclear program. Despite pressure from the international community, Pyongyang has made no secret of its nuclear ambitions. Alongside its ritual ballistic missile tests, North Korea has conducted nuclear tests on at least six occasions, including one in September 2017.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/KCNA
US running out of patience?
Responding to the first ICBM test with a show of force, the US and South Korean troops on conducted "deep strike" precision missile drills using Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and the Republic of Korea's Hyunmoo Missile II. In April, the US sent its Carl Vinson aircraft carrier towards the Korean Peninsula, saying it was taking prudent measures against the North.
Image: picture-alliance/Zumapress/M. Brown
Testing the boundaries
Ignoring international condemnation, Pyongyang test-launched another rocket on July 28, 2017, just weeks after its first ICBM test. In both of the tests, North Korea used Hwasong-14 missile, but the second one reached a higher altitude and traveled a larger distance than the first one, according to the state media.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/KCNA
Whole of US within range?
Pyongyang conducted its third test November 29, using a newly developed Hwasong-15 missile. US, Japanese and South Korean officials said it rose to about 4,500 km (2,800 miles) and flew 960 kilometers (600 miles) over about 50 minutes before landing in Japan's exclusive economic zone off the country's coast.
Image: picture-alliance/MAXPPP
One of the world's largest militaries
Apart from a developing missile and nuclear program, North Korea has a powerful army with 700,000 active troops and another 4.5 million in the reserves. It can call upon almost a quarter of its population to serve in the army at any given time. The North's bloated army is believed to outnumber its southern neighbor's by two-to-one.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/E. Jones
Vast capabilities
According to the 2017 Global Firepower Index, the North has, as part of a far-reaching arsenal, 458 fighter aircraft, 5,025 combat tanks, 76 submarines, and 5,200,000 total military personnel. The picture above from 2013 shows leader Kim Jong Un ordering strategic rocket forces to be on standby to strike US and South Korean targets at any time.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Enemies all around
Alongside the United States, Pyongyang views its neighbors South Korea and Japan as its two other main enemies. North Korea has used US military exercises in the region as means of galvanizing its people, claiming that the exercises are dress rehearsals for an impending invasion.
Image: Reuters/K. Hong-Ji
Huge, colorful demonstrations of military might
Every year, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and citizens roll through the streets of the capital Pyongyang to take part in the North's military parades. Preparations for the rallies often begin months in advance, and the parades usually mark important anniversaries linked with the Communist Party or Kim Jong Un's family.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/KCNA
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North Korea 'acting positively'
US President Donald Trump said North Korea "seems to be acting positively" after Pyongyang's overture to hold denuclearization talks.
"The statements coming out of South Korea and North Korea have been very positive," Trump said.
"We have come a long way at least rhetorically with North Korea. It would be a great thing for the world, it would be a great thing for North Korea, it would be a great thing for the peninsula, but we will see what happens," he said in the Oval Office.
Trump added that the situation on the Korean peninsula could not be allowed to "fester."
Earlier, Trump had tweeted that the progress in talks with North Korea could also be a "false hope."
Chung and the South's intelligence chief Suh Hoon are due to fly to Washington later in the week to brief US officials on their discussions in the North.
