History happened right before our eyes overnight when North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un became the first leader of the hermit kingdom to set foot in South Korea.
He shook hands with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and the two men held an 8.5 hour summit, which included talks to end the six decade long Korean War, denuclearization, and begin talks with America.
From The Wall Street Journal:
The joint statement, called the Panmunjom Declaration, also calls for restarting reunions of families separated by the Korean War, and the establishment of an inter-Korean liaison office on the northern side. As part of the pact, Mr. Moon will travel to Pyongyang in the fall for a summit meeting.In one surreal moment in a day replete with symbolism, Messrs. Kim and Moon abandoned their aides and strolled side by side to a park bench on a footbridge, where they conversed for more than half an hour—as cameras captured the moment for a rapt South Korean audience.“We will work towards preventing another horrible war,” Mr. Kim said after signing the joint declaration. “With one language, one culture and one history, North and South Korea will be joined as one nation.”
In all honesty, I don’t believe a single word Kim says. Actions do speak louder than words. WSJ noted that the talks “steered clear of specifics on the question of Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons.”
The joint statement also stated that the two sides have the same goal of “realizing, through complete denuclearization, a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.” This wording is very important:
That language hews closely to a phrase preferred by Pyongyang that critics of the rapprochement say conditions any North Korean actions on the withdrawal of the U.S. military from South Korea.The phrase “denuclearization of the peninsula,” said Evan Rees, Asia-Pacific analyst at Stratfor, “could mean movement of U.S. strategic assets, and a phased, rather than a rapid denuclearization—which goes against what the U.S. has called for.”Notably, the declaration used the word “peace” 11 times, while mentioning “nuclear” or “denuclearization” four times, underscoring the emphasis on lowering tensions and building better ties.
Ending the Korean War has some rough edges as well since China, North Korea, and the U.S.-led United Nations forces signed the armistice in 1953. This means the war cannot just end because the two sides say so. It has to go through China, America, and the United Nations.
Moon and Kim said “they would work with Washington and Beijing to replace it with a ‘permanent and solid peace regime.'”
After the two men finished their summit, they participated “in a symbolic tree-planting ceremony in the DMZ” at a tree planted in 1953 when they signed the armistice. CNN reported that “Kim used soil from a mountain on the southern island of Jeju while Moon used earth from Mount Paektu in the north.”
Then both men shed their aides and walked alone, talking by themselves for 30 minutes at a footbridge.
President Donald Trump praised the meetings on Twitter.
Trump even gave credit to China:
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang sent out a congratulations:
“China has always supported the two sides to establish mutual trust and improve bilateral ties through dialogue and consultation. This is in the common interest of the two sides and the region, and meets the common expectation of the international community. We hope and believe that the North and South Korean sides will be able to implement the consensus reached by their leaders and continue to push for reconciliation and cooperation.”“We hope all relevant parties keep the momentum of dialogue, work together to promote the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula as well as the process of a political settlement on the peninsula issue.”
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