[Joint Press Corps.]
SEOUL -- As its first step of implementing rapprochement accords at a historic inter-Korean summit last week, North Korea announced a decision to unify its time zone with South Korea on May 5.
In a decree adopted by the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly (parliament), the North will push back its standard time by 30 minutes on an order from leader Kim Jong-un, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Kim expressed his determination to unify time between the two Koreas as the first practical step for "national reconciliation and unity" after watching two different clocks used by Seoul and Pyongyang at the venue for his summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in last week in the border truce village of Panmunjom, KCNA said.
Originally, the Koreas used an identical standard time, but Pyongyang adopted its own time zone in August 2015 to remove the legacy of Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula, leading to a 30-minute time gap.
At the summit, Kim promised to close down the North's nuclear test site in Punggye-ri near the border with China in May and invite outside experts and journalists to witness its dismantling, Moon's office said Sunday. Along with complete denuclearization, Kim has agreed to work on ending the status of war on the divided peninsula and end all acts of hostilities.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
