
SEOUL -- Despite the meticulous preparations by North and South Korea ahead of Friday's historic summit, one central question has yet to be decided: whether the two leaders can reach an accord on denuclearization.
Unusually, the matter was not sorted out in working-level talks ahead of the meeting and will instead be negotiated directly between the leaders, according to Im Jong-seok, South Korean President Moon Jae-in's chief of staff. The degree to which they will agree on denuclearization -- which North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has expressed a willingness to consider -- and the language to be used in a planned joint statement have yet to be decided, Im told reporters Thursday.