US detects ‘activity’ at missile factory in North, as two Koreas hold military talks
The complex outside at Sanumdong produced Pyongyang’s first missiles capable of reaching the United States
North and South Korea held military talks to build trust on Tuesday, while the United States detected renewed activity at a North Korean missile factory.
The meeting, their second since June, held in the border village of Panmunjom in the demilitarised zone (DMZ), was designed to follow on from an inter-Korean summit in April at which leaders of the two Koreas agreed to defuse tensions and halt “all hostile acts”.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un also vowed during his separate summit with US President Donald Trump in Singapore in June to work towards denuclearisation, but there has not been a concrete agreement to accomplish that goal.
Kim Do-gyun, the South’s chief negotiator who is in charge of North Korea policy at the defence ministry, told reporters before leaving for the DMZ that he would make efforts to craft “substantive” measures to ease tensions and build trust.
The two sides are expected to discuss a possible cut in firearms and personnel stationed at the DMZ, as well as a joint excavation of the remains of soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean war.
