With a single step over a slab of concrete, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made history on Friday, briefly crossing into South Korea. South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in then reciprocated, opening a new page in inter-Korean relations.
he leaders of North and South Korea signed a declaration on Friday agreeing to work for the “complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.”
At their first summit in more than a decade, the two sides announced they would seek an agreement to establish “permanent” and “solid” peace on the peninsula.
The declaration included promises to pursue military arms reduction, cease “hostile acts,” turn their fortified border into a “peace zone,” and seek multilateral talks with other countries, such as the United States.
“The two leaders declare before our people of 80 million and the entire world there will be no more war on the Korean peninsula and a new age of peace has begun,” the two sides said in a joint statement.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed to visit the North Korean capital of Pyongyang this year, they said.
TRT World‘s Mohsin Mughal explains what to expect next in inter-Korean relations.
North Korea’s Kim Jong-un thanked his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in for greeting him at a “historic place” ahead of their meeting. At the historic moment when the two leaders shook hands across the demarcation line that divides the rivals, Kim said that his heart “keeps throbbing.”
Moon replied to Kim’s thanks by saying that the North Korean leader made a “very courageous decision” to come to the South.
Kim, breaking from the script, then invited Moon to cross briefly back into the north with him before they returned to the southern side.
Those small steps must be seen in the context of the last year — when the United States, its ally South Korea and the North seemed at times to be on the verge of nuclear war as the North unleashed a torrent of weapons tests — but also in light of the long, destructive history of the rival Koreas, who fought one of the 20th century’s bloodiest conflicts and even today occupy a divided peninsula that’s still technically in a state of war.
TRT World’s Oliver Whitfield-Miocic has more.
A new history starts now’
Both leaders smiled broadly on Friday as Moon grasped Kim’s hand and led him along a blindingly red carpet into South Korean territory, where school children gave Kim flowers and an honour guard stood at attention for inspection, a military band playing traditional Korean folk songs beloved by both Koreas and the South Korean equivalent of “Hail to the Chief.”
It’s the first time a member of the ruling Kim dynasty has crossed over to the southern side of the Demilitarised Zone since the Korean War ended in 1953.
He stopped to sign a guest book in the South’s Peace House before the two leaders met for a private discussion.
“A new history starts now. An age of peace, from the starting point of history,” Kim wrote in Korean in the book, dating and signing the entry.
Healing scars
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made a reference to a South Korean island targeted by a North Korean artillery attack that killed four in 2010.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s senior spokesman said Kim said the residents of Yeonpyeong Island who have been living under the fear of North Korean artillery attacks and also families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War have high hopes for the inter-Korean talks to help heal past scars.
Moon called for more meetings between the leaders and said he wishes to travel in North Korea to visit Mount Paektu near the country’s border with China.
Kim said the trip under current conditions would be uncomfortable, but the North would improve its transportation networks should Moon decided to visit. Kim also said the North Korean delegation during their visit to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in February came back impressed by the South’s bullet train services.
Moon in response said the people of both Koreas would be able to enjoy high-speed train services if relations improve and the countries connect their rail networks across borders.
‘Historic’ summit
Beyond the carefully choreographed surface, however, it’s still not clear whether the leaders can make any progress in closed-door talks on the nuclear issue, which has bedeviled US and South Korean officials for decades.
North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests last year likely put it on the threshold of becoming a legitimate nuclear power. North Korea claims it has already risen to that level.
The greeting of the two leaders was planned to the last detail.
Thousands of journalists were kept in a huge conference center well away from the summit, except for a small group of tightly-controlled pool reporters at the border.
Moon stood near the Koreas’ dividing line, moving forward the moment he glimpsed Kim, dressed in dark, Mao-style suit, appearing in front of a building on the northern side.
They shook hands with the border line between them.
Moon then invited Kim to cross into the South, and after he did so, Kim invited Moon back into the North. They then took a ceremonial photo facing the North and then another photo facing the South.
Two fifth-grade students from the Daesongdong Elementary School, the only South Korean school within the DMZ, greeted the leaders and gave the Kim flowers.
Kim and Moon then saluted an honour guard and military band, and Moon introduced Kim to South Korean government officials.
Kim returned the favour with the North Korean officials accompanying him.
They then took a photo inside the Peace House, where the summit took place, in front of a painting of South Korea’s Bukhan Mountain, which towers over the South Korean Blue House presidential mansion.
US says ‘hopeful that talks will achieve progress’
The White House said in a statement that it is “hopeful that talks will achieve progress toward a future of peace and prosperity for the entire Korean Peninsula. … (and) looks forward to continuing robust discussions in preparation for the planned meeting between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un in the coming weeks.”
Moon, a liberal whose election last year ended a decade of conservative rule in Seoul, will be looking to make some headway on the North’s nuclear programme in advance of a planned summit in several weeks between Kim and Trump.
Kim, the third member of his family to rule his nation with absolute power, is eager, both in this meeting and in the Trump talks, to talk about the nearly 30,000 heavily armed US troops stationed in South Korea and the lack of a formal peace treaty ending the Korea War — two factors, the North says, that make nuclear weapons necessary.
North Korea may also be looking to use whatever happens in the talks with Moon to set up the Trump summit, which it may see as a way to legitimise its declared status as a nuclear power.
‘Bold agreement’
Moon told the North’s leader that he hoped to see a “bold agreement” as they began their summit.
“I hope we engage in frank talks and reach a bold agreement so that we may give a big gift to the whole Korean people and the people who want peace,” Moon said.
Kim said he’s ready for “heartfelt, sincere and honest” talks with Moon on pending issues and that the Koreas must not repeat the past where they were “unable to fulfill our agreements.”
Kim did not make any direct mention of the North Korean nuclear issue in the part of his talks with Moon that were shown on live television.
Kim also joked that he hoped Moon would enjoy North Korea’s famous cold noodles that will be brought to the banquet after the summit, saying it was difficult to bring the noodles from capital Pyongyang.
He then turned to his sister sitting to his left and said “maybe I shouldn’t have said (Pyongyang) was far.”
Moon in response said there were high expectations surrounding the inter-Korean summit and that they produce an agreement that would please the people of Koreas and also “every peace-loving person in the world.”