| May
1. | - The ROK military removes
the loudspeakers along the border line (until May 4).
|
| May 1. | - President Moon Jae-in, in his talks on
the phone with UN Secretary General António Guterres, asks
the UN to go to the site of the dismantling of the North
Korean nuclear test ground and to welcome and support the
Panmunjeom Declaration.
- The UN Secretary General
mentioned that, although they need approval of the UN
Security Council, the UN will strive to facilitate the
establishment of peace on the Korean Peninsula.
|
| May 3. |
- The ROK government holds the first meeting of the
Panmunjeom Declaration Implementation Committee. -
Chairperson: Presidential Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok
- General Secretary: Unification Minister Cho
Myoung-gyon,
- Members: Foreign Minister Kang
Kyung-wha, Defense Minister Song Young-moo, National
Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon, Minister of Office
of Government Policy Coordination Hong Nam-ki, National
Security Office Director Chung Eui-yong, and Presidential
Chief of Staff for Policy Jang Ha-sung.
- Forming
three subcommittees on development in inter-Korean
relations, denuclearization and a peace system, and
communication and public relations; managing a task force
for forestry cooperation under the subcommittee on
development in inter-Korean relations; holding a
working-level meeting following the high-level talks.
|
| May 3. | - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets
with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
- They shared
the view that North Korea and China need to further develop
bilateral relations and exchanged opinions on the situation
and developments on the Korean Peninsula. |
| May 4. | - The ROK
National Security Office director discusses the North
Korea-US summit with US National Security Adviser John
Bolton.
|
| May 4. | - The ROK and the US finish the Key
Resolve exercise.
|
| May
4. | - The two Koreas form a
unified women’s team for the World Team Table Tennis
Championships in Sweden and face off against Japan in the
semifinals.
|
| May 7. |
- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has
a summit meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (until
May 8, in Dalian, China).
- Kim Jong Un said, “North
Korea remains determined to realize denuclearization of the
Korean Peninsula. Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula
is achievable as long as the involved parties desist from
pursuing hostile policies and security threats against the
DPRK. If mutual trust is built through the North Korea-US
talks, each party takes phased and synchronous measures, and
involved parties address the issues politically, we will
eventually achieve denuclearization and lasting peace on the
Korean Peninsula.” (reported by Xinhua News Agency on May
8). |
| May 8. | - The ROK government suggests to the North
the holding of a high-level meeting at the Peace House on
May 14 to discuss ways to implement the Panmunjeom
Declaration.
|
| May 9. |
- The summit meeting between the
leaders of the ROK, Japan, and China is held, and bilateral
meetings between the leaders of the ROK and Japan and
between the leaders of the ROK and China are held in
Tokyo.
- Joint Statement: “We agree to complete
denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula;” and “North
Korea’s bright future will open only through international
cooperation and comprehensive resolution of concerns of
involved countries.”
- Special Statement: “We confirm
and welcome the objective of complete denuclearization of
the Panmunjeom Declaration;” and “We look forward to the
success of the North Korea-US summit.” |
| May 9. | - North
Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets with US Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo.
- After hearing the message of US
President Trump from Pompeo, Kim expressed deep gratitude
for his willingness to address the issues through new
alternatives and dialogue, and for his great interest in the
North Korea-US summit.
- Satisfactory agreement
regarding the North Korea-US summit and the release and
repatriation of American detainees. |
| May 9. | - President Moon
talks on the phone with US President Trump.
- Trump
mentioned that the release of the American detainees will
have a positive impact on the North Korea-US summit and
thanked President Moon for helping to realize their
release. |
| May 10. | - US President Trump comes to meet the
three repatriated Americans at the airport and announces
that the North Korea-US summit will be held in Singapore on
June 12.
|
| May 11. |
- The ROK and the US conduct the joint
air drill Max Thunder (until May 25).
|
| May 12. | - North Korea’s
Foreign Ministry, in a press release, announces a plan to
dismantle the northern nuclear test ground on May
23-25.
- Phased dismantling: exploding, collapsing,
and sealing all tunnels of the nuclear test ground and
removing all the ground structures including the test
observation center.
- Allowing the international press
corps (from China, Russia, the US, the UK, and South Korea)
to cover the dismantling of the nuclear test ground to show
it transparently. |
| May
13. | - US Secretary of State
Pompeo, in an interview, mentions that if the North
completely scraps its nuclear program, the US will permit
large-scale private investment.
|
| May 13. | - US National
Security Adviser John Bolton, in an interview, says that the
implementation of permanent, verifiable, and irreversible
nuclear dismantlement means getting rid of all nuclear
weapons, dismantling them, and taking them to Oak Ridge,
Tennessee.
|
| May 14. |
- President Moon, in a meeting with
senior presidential aides, mentions that he fully
appreciates and welcomes the North’s decision to publicly
dismantle the Punggye-ri nuclear test site and asks the
political community to come together as one for the success
of the North Korea-US summit.
|
| May 15. | - North Korea
makes a modified proposal to hold a high-level meeting on
May 16.
|
| May 15. |
- North Korea notifies the South that
it is inviting four journalists each from one news agency
and one broadcasting company for the dismantling of the
northern nuclear test ground scheduled for May 23-25.
|
| May 15. | - The ROK government accepts the North’s
suggestion regarding the high-level meeting and announces
that the meeting will be held at the Peace House on the
southern side of Panmunjeom on May 16.
|
| May 16. | - North
Korea notifies the South that it is postponing the
high-level meeting indefinitely, citing the ROK-US joint air
drill Max Thunder.
|
| May
16. | - Kim Kye Gwan, first
vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, in a statement, argues
that if the US unilaterally forces the North to give up its
nuclear weapons, the North will have no choice but to
reconsider the North Korea-US summit.
|
| May 17. | - Ri Son Gwon,
chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of
the Country (CPRC), in a Q&A session with KCNA
reporters, says that unless the grave situation is
addressed, it will not be easy to sit down to talk with the
South.
|
| May 19. | - A spokesperson for the DPRK Red Cross
Society, in a Q&A session with KCNA reporters, demands
the repatriation of North Korean female workers who defected
en masse to the South and punishment of those responsible
for their kidnapping.
- He stated that the handling of
the incident in which North Korean workers were lured and
kidnapped will determine the prospects for resolution of the
humanitarian issues between the two Koreas addressed in the
Panmunjeom Declaration. |
| May
20. | - President Moon talks on
the phone with US President Trump.
- The Blue House,
in a briefing, said that they agreed to work closely
together in the future as well as in the upcoming ROK-US
summit for the successful hosting the North Korea-US summit
scheduled for June 12. |
| May
22. | - The leaders of the ROK and
the US hold a summit meeting at the White House.
-
They agreed to work hard to ensure the smooth proceeding of
the North Korea-US summit, assessed the present North Korean
attitude, and discussed ways to resolve the North’s sense of
regime instability following the declaration of complete
denuclearization. |
| May 22. |
- The ROK government, in a
statement in the name of the Minister of Unification, states
that it is very sad and feels regret that the South Korean
press corps could not visit the North despite having been
invited by the North to witness the dismantling of the
Punggye-ri nuclear test site.
|
| May 23. | - North Korea
accepts the list of South Korean journalists to cover the
dismantling of the nuclear test site through the liaison
channel in Panmunjeom.
|
| May
23. | - The South Korean press
corps (four reporters each from MBC and News1) fly to North
Korea on a government plane (from Seongnam to Wonsan).
|
| May 24. | - North Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Choe
Son Hui, in a statement, lambasts US Vice President Mike
Pence for mentioning a Libya-style approach and military
option against the North in a recent media interview and
mentions that she might put forward a suggestion to the
Supreme Leader to reconsider the summit with the US.
|
| May 24. | - North Korea dismantles the Punggye-ri
nuclear test site in Gilju, North Hamgyong Province and
opens the demolition to the international press corps.
- The Nuclear Weapons Institute of the DPRK, in a statement,
declared that the dismantling of the nuclear test ground
clearly attests to the proactive and peace-loving efforts of
the DPRK government. |
| May
24. | - A spokesperson for the ROK
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement, states that the
government welcomes the dismantling of the nuclear test
site.
|
| May 24. | - US President Donald Trump, in a letter
addressed to Kim Jong Un, says that he is canceling the
summit with the North Korean leader.
|
| May 24. | - In response
to the canceling of the North Korea-US summit, President
Moon states that the parties’ sincerity has not changed and
that he hopes that the two leaders will resolve issues
through direct dialogue.
|
| May
25. | - In response to the US’s
abrupt decision to pull out of the North Korea-US summit,
Kim Kye Gwan, first vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, in a
statement, mentions that North Korea is willing to sit down
face-to-face with the US and resolve issues anytime and in
any format.
|
| May 26. |
- The second 2018 Inter-Korean
Summit is held at the Thongil House on the northern side of
Panmunjeom.
|
| May 27. |
- President Moon has a press
conference on the outcome of the second inter-Korean
summit.
- Working together for complete
denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the success of
the North Korea-US summit; implementing the Panmunjeom
Declaration as soon as possible, and holding a series of
inter-Korean talks on June 1 including a high-level meeting,
military authorities’ talks, and a Red Cross meeting
consecutively; and exchanging opinions frankly anytime.
|
| May 29. | - The ROK government notifies the North of
the list of delegates for the high-level inter-Korean
meeting scheduled for June 1 at the Peace House on the
southern side of Panmunjeom.
- Unification Minister
Cho Myoung-gyon (chief), Vice Minister for Land,
Infrastructure, and Transport Kim Jeong-ryeol, Second Vice
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Roh Tae-kang, Deputy
Minister for Unification Policy Kim Nam-joong, Deputy
Director-General for the Prime Minister's Office Ahn
Moon-hyun, and Vice Administrator for Korea Forest Service
Ryu Kwang-su (substitute). |
| May 29. | - North Korea
notifies the South of the list of delegates for the
high-level inter-Korean meeting.
- CPRC Chairman Ri
Son Gwon, Vice Minister of Railroads Kim Yun Hyok, Vice
Minister of Sports Won Kil U, CPRC Vice Chairman Pak Yong
Il, and Vice Chairman of the National Economic Cooperation
Committee Pak Myong Chol.
- The North suggested to the
South the discussion of schedules for meetings on opening a
joint liaison office, discussion of joint events for the
Korean people, and talks between the military authorities as
agreed in the Panmunjeom Declaration. |
| May 30. | - Kim Yong
Chol, vice chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the
DPRK, visits the US (until June 2).
- Kim had a dinner
with US Secretary of State Pompeo on May 30 and a meeting on
May 31, and met with President Trump and delivered him a
letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on June 1.
|
| May 30. | - The DPRK permanent mission to the UN
Office and other international organizations in Geneva
issues a press release urging the South to repatriate the
North Korean female workers who defected en masse to the
South.
|
