Anchor: In an exclusive interview on KBS’ main televised news program on Tuesday night, South Korea’s Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon offered some clarification on the Panmunjeom Declaration. He said that the wording of complete denuclearization in the agreement refers to CVID, or complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization.
Our Park Jong-hong has more.

Report: On KBS’s news program on Tuesday night, a senior level official formally clarified the meaning of complete denuclearization in the Panmunjeom Declaration for the first time.

[Sound bite: Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon (Korean)]
“I believe there won’t be any problem to consider the meaning of complete denuclearization as identical to CVID, or complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization.”

Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon added that the remaining task is fine tuning and implementing this agreement but the fact remains that North Korea has significantly narrowed the gap with the notion of CVID, or complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization, the solid principle held by the United States.

As for North Korea’s decision to shut down its Punggye-ri nuclear test site, some skeptics argue this is not a significant gesture as the North had already declared that it has finalized and completed its nuclear capabilities.

When asked about such criticism, the minister said that even if the North has nuclear power he thinks that there is still room for development and full completion so this move is a good sign.

[Sound bite: Unification Minster Cho Myoung-gyon (Korean)]
“But the point is that the North has invited the international community to observe the demolition of the testing site and that this a clear and preemptive move displaying its strong will.”

He emphasized that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stressed on several occasions during last week’s summit with President Moon Jae-in that the North has no reason to hold on to nuclear weapons when the Korean War is declared over and both sides agree not to invade each other.
Park Jong-hong, KBS World Radio News.

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