Historic summit: Kim Jong Un to cross border into South Korea to meet Moon Jae-in

[webfact]

South, North Korea to hold first summit in decade at DMZ

By Soyoung Kim

 

South Korea has released a busy agenda for Friday, when North Korea's Kim Jong Un will cross the border into the South for a historic inter-Korean summit.

 

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is set to cross his country's heavily militarised border with South Korea on Friday for the first intra-Korea summit in more than a decade, as the old foes seek to end their decades-long conflict and ease tensions over the North's nuclear weapons programme.

 

The summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in will set the stage for Kim to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in late May or early June, in what will be an unprecedented first encounter between sitting leaders of the two countries.

 

Just months ago, Trump and Kim were trading threats and insults as North Korea's rapid advances in pursuit of nuclear-armed missiles capable of hitting the United States raised fears of a fresh conflict on the Korean peninsula.

 

South Korea's Moon will greet Kim at the military demarcation line at 9:30 a.m. (0030 GMT), making Kim the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the 1950-53 Korean War.

 

The two will be escorted by South Korean honour guards to an official welcoming ceremony before beginning official dialogue at 10:30 a.m. (0130 GMT) at Peace House, a South Korean building inside the border truce village of Panmunjom.

 

North Korea's official KCNA news agency said Kim had left Pyongyang for the "historical" summit in which he would "open-heartedly discuss with Moon Jae-in all the issues arising in improving inter-Korean relations and achieving peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean peninsula."

 

In a dramatic gesture just days before the summit, Kim said North Korea would suspend nuclear and long-range missile tests and dismantle its only known nuclear test site.

 

But scepticism is rampant about whether Kim is ready to abandon the hard-earned nuclear arsenal his country has defended and developed for decades as what it says is a necessary deterrent against U.S. invasion.

 

South Korea hopes North Korea's leader on Friday will directly confirm his will for "complete" denuclearisation of the peninsula.

 

The two neighbours expect to release a joint statement late on Friday - possibly called the Panmunjom Declaration - that could address denuclearisation and peace, and an improvement in relations, South Korean officials said.

 

KCNA said that Kim would plant a memorial tree with Moon.

 

UNENDING HOSTILITIES

Impoverished North Korea and the rich, democratic South are technically still at war because the Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

 

The United States stations 28,500 troops in South Korea as a legacy of the Cold War conflict, which pitted the South, the United States and United Nations forces against the communist North, backed by China and Russia.

 

On Thursday, Trump said he was considering three or four dates as well as five locations for his meeting with Kim Jong Un, although once again he added that it remained unclear whether the meeting will occur.

 

Trump has said he expects to meet with Kim in May or June, but he has warned several times that the meeting could be called off if he did not think it could deliver the desired results.

 

"It could be that I walk out quickly - with respect - but ... it could be that maybe the meeting doesn't even take place," he told Fox News by telephone. "Who knows. But I can tell you right now they want to meet."

 

The White House later released two photographs of then Secretary of State-designate and CIA chief Mike Pompeo's meeting with Kim in North Korea over the Easter weekend to discuss the planned summit. It was Kim's first known meeting with a U.S. official.

 

The photos show Kim and Pompeo, who was confirmed as secretary of state on Thursday, shaking hands. In one they faced each other looking serious; in the other they both appeared to wear faint smiles. https://bit.ly/2KfRHN3

 

Friday's inter-Korean summit will be the third ever after two former South Korean leaders, Kim Dae-jung in 2000 and Roh Moo-hyun in 2007, met with Kim Jong Un’s late father and predecessor, Kim Jong Il, in Pyongyang.

 

The latest summit has particular significance not least because of its venue: the Demilitarised Zone, a 160-mile (260-km) long, 2.5-mile (4-km) wide strip of land created in the 1953 armistice to serve as a buffer between the South and North.

 

With heavily armed soldiers and propaganda broadcasts blasted over loudspeakers from both sides, the DMZ has long been a symbol of hostilities on the divided peninsula.

 

South Korea switched off its propaganda broadcasts on Monday to set a positive tone ahead of the summit, and South Korean residents living near the border said the North Korean broadcasts had also appeared to stop on Tuesday.

 

South and North Korea are in discussions about a peace agreement that could officially end the state of war, an effort Trump said has his "blessing" if Pyongyang agreed to give up its nuclear arsenal.

 

For the first time, key moments such as Kim crossing the border into the South, the two leaders shaking hands and walking to the Peace House for their talks, will be broadcast live.

 

The summit includes a dinner where Swiss fried potato rosti, as well as chocolates, macarons and gruyere cheese cakes will be served as a homage to Kim's childhood spent in Switzerland.

 

PRELUDE TO TRUMP SUMMIT

Moon, who took office in May pledging to restore ties with the North and who has tirelessly called for dialogue, helped steer Kim and Trump toward meeting, a major coup for the liberal president.

 

After dozens of missile launches last year, Kim embarked on a diplomatic offensive at the beginning of the year. Kim sent a delegation to the Winter Olympics in South Korea in February before Trump stunned the world by agreeing to meet Kim to discuss "denuclearisation" of the Korean peninsula.

 

Now comes the hard part.

 

The history of failed nuclear negotiations with Pyongyang has made many U.S. officials sceptical of Kim's true intentions and suspicious of his recent overtures as more of a bid to win relief from wide-ranging U.N. sanctions and to divide Washington and its allies.

 

There is also concern that North Korea could insist on taking incremental steps in return for simultaneous incentives from Washington, the kind of a phased approach that U.S. officials have rejected.

 

Unlike two previous inter-Korean summits, joint economic projects are not expected to be discussed, South Korean officials said. U.N. sanctions imposed since North Korea's first nuclear test in 2006 and expanded over the past decade deny North Korea a considerable amount of international trade.

 

(Reporting by Soyoung Kim in SEOUL; Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom and Susan Heavey and Eric Beech in WASHINGTON; Editing by Lincoln Feast and James Dalgleish)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-04-27

[alocacoc]

That's fantastic.

Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.

Sent from a so called Smartphone using an App.

[webfact]

'A new history starts now' as leaders of two Koreas begin summit

By Christine Kim and Josh Smith

 

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 27, 2018. Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters

 

SEOUL (Reuters) - Smiling and holding hands, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in met at the heavily fortified demilitarised zone between the countries on Friday in the first summit for the two Koreas in over a decade.

 

The meeting, aimed at ending their decades-long conflict and easing tensions over the North's nuclear weapons programme, comes weeks before Kim is due to meet U.S. President Donald Trump.

 

Moon greeted Kim at the military demarcation line at 9:30 a.m. (0030 GMT), making Kim the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the 1950-53 Korean War.

 

In an unplanned move, Kim invited Moon to step briefly across the demarcation line into North Korea, before the two leaders crossed back into South Korea holding hands.

 

The two were handed flowers by a South Korean boy and girl, residents of a village situated in the demilitarised zone.

 

Walking on a red carpet rolled out for the two heads of state, the pair were met by a South Korean honour guard in historical costumes and playing traditional music.

 

Kim wore glasses and his trademark black Mao suit, while the rest of the North Korean delegation appeared in military uniforms or Western attire.

 

Kim 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.

 

Moon and Kim are expected to talk denuclearisation and exchanges between the Koreas and also will plant a memorial tree at the border truce village of Panmunjom.

 

The United States is hopeful talks between Kim and Moon will make progress on achieving peace and prosperity, the White House said in a statement as the two men began their summit.

 

The White House also said it looks forward to continuing discussions with South Korea in preparation for the planned meeting of Trump and Kim in the coming weeks.

 

Just months ago, Trump and Kim were trading threats and insults as North Korea's rapid advances in pursuit of nuclear-armed missiles capable of hitting the United States raised fears of a fresh conflict on the Korean peninsula.

 

Earlier Friday, North Korea's official KCNA news agency said Kim would "open-heartedly discuss with Moon Jae-in all the issues arising in improving inter-Korean relations and achieving peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean peninsula."

 

Just days before the summit, Kim said North Korea would suspend nuclear and long-range missile tests and dismantle its only known nuclear test site.

 

Moon travelled to the meeting in a large motorcade, stopping briefly to greet dozens of summit supporters waving South Korean flags near the Blue House.

 

Hundreds of demonstrators were seen gathering in downtown Seoul from early morning to protest or support the summit.

 

Scepticism has been rampant about whether Kim is ready to abandon the hard-earned nuclear arsenal his country has defended and developed for decades as what it says is a necessary deterrent against U.S. invasion.

 

The two neighbours expect to release a joint statement late on Friday - possibly called the Panmunjom Declaration - that could address denuclearisation and peace, and an improvement in relations, South Korean officials said.

 

UNENDING HOSTILITIES

 

Impoverished North Korea and the rich, democratic South are technically still at war because the Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

 

The United States stations 28,500 troops in South Korea as a legacy of the Cold War conflict, which pitted the South, the United States and United Nations forces against the communist North, backed by China and Russia.

 

Kim and Trump are expected to meet in late May or June, with Trump saying on Thursday he was considering several possible dates and venues.

 

The White House released two photographs of then Secretary of State-designate and CIA chief Mike Pompeo's meeting with Kim in North Korea over the Easter weekend to discuss the planned summit. It was Kim's first known meeting with a U.S. official.

 

The photos show Kim and Pompeo, who was confirmed as secretary of state on Thursday, shaking hands. In one they faced each other looking serious; in the other they both appeared to wear faint smiles. 

 

 

 

The latest summit has particular significance not least because of its venue: the Demilitarised Zone, a 160-mile (260-km) long, 2.5-mile (4-km) wide strip of land created in the 1953 armistice to serve as a buffer between the South and North.

 

For the first time, key moments such as Kim crossing the border into the South, the two leaders shaking hands and walking to the Peace House for their talks, were broadcast live.

 

Besides capturing the two leaders' candid interactions, the live feed broadcast a few hiccups, including when a key photo op blocked was blocked by a photographer's backside.

 

(Reporting by the Inter-Korean Summit Press Corps, Christine Kim and Josh Smith; Additional reporting by Hyonhee Shin in SEOUL and David Brunnstrom and Susan Heavey and Eric Beech in WASHINGTON; Editing by Lincoln Feast)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-04-27

[baboon]

33 minutes ago, alocacoc said:

That's fantastic.

Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.

Sent from a so called Smartphone using an App.
 

What, for appointing John Bolton whose idea of negotiations is to dictate the terms of the adversary's capitulation or else the Cruise missiles start flying? Hardly.

However yes this is fantastic news.

[mike324]

1 hour ago, alocacoc said:

That's fantastic.

Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.

Sent from a so called Smartphone using an App.
 

haha thats funny. Did you think Trump made NK shut down its nuclear program too?

[BuaBS]

I wonder how many snipers ( on both sides) were keeping an eye on them.

Kim must be suicidal .

[TKDfella]

Taken at face value, this is good. I wonder if China had said something to NK that made it rethink the nuclear program or perhaps NK heading for a starvation crisis. Whatever...doesn't matter let's just hope it keeps up. The only thing I am concerned about is that the Korean War is still in truce.

[tifino]

18 minutes ago, BuaBS said:

I wonder how many snipers ( on both sides) were keeping an eye on them.

Kim must be suicidal .

More than likely -  all Trained on his entourage in case of defections 

[webfact]

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shakes hands with South Korean President Moon Jae-in as both of them arrive for the inter-Korean summit at the truce village of Panmunjom, in this still frame taken from video, South Korea April 27, 2018. Host Broadcaster via REUTERS TV

 

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 27, 2018. Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters

 

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attend a welcoming ceremony at the Peace House in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 27, 2018. Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-04-27

[webfact]

Smiles and long handshakes mark start of summit between leaders of rival Koreas

 

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 27, 2018. Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters

 

SEOUL (Reuters) - The golden doors on the stately North Korean building swung open and leader Kim Jong Un, in a black Mao suit and surrounded by a gaggle of officials, began to descend the steps toward the border.

 

Not since the 1950-53 Korean War had a North Korean leader set foot on South Korean soil.

 

With a smile, Kim stretched out his hand toward a waiting, and smiling, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who stood between the squat, light blue buildings that straddle the border at Panmunjom.

 

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 27, 2018. Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters

 

The village is one of the few places where there are no high barbed wire fences or minefields between the two countries, separated by a conflict that ended with a truce, not a treaty, meaning they are still technically at war.

Grasping hands across the border, the two men greeted one another.

 

"I was excited to meet at this historic place and it is really moving that you came all the way to the demarcation line to greet me in person," Kim said.

 

"It was your big decision to make it here," said Moon, dressed in a dark suit and light blue tie, who invited Kim to step over the line in the pavement, which he did.

 

That's something Kim's grandfather, the North Korean regime's founding leader Kim Il Sung, or father Kim Jong Il, never achieved.

 

The two previous summits between leaders of the Koreas, in 2000 and 2007, were in Pyongyang, the North's capital.

Shaking hands again, Moon, 65, and Kim, 34, turned to face photographers on the North and then the South before Kim grabbed Moon's hand and, in an unplanned move, invited him to step across the border into the North, where they stood face-to-face to talk a bit more.

 

The scene unfolded in simple, even run-down surroundings, where a concrete slab marks the border and paint is cracking on the low wooden huts.

 

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 27, 2018. Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters

 

The apparent warmth between the men was in stark contrast to the tension between the two countries last year amid North Korean weapons testing.

 

Since January, however, ties have thawed, including having their Olympics sports teams march together under a common flag at February's winter games in South Korea.

 

After being led along a red carpet by South Korean honour guard in traditional blue, yellow and red outfits, the two men entered the Peace House on the South side, where they were expected to discuss denuclearisation and cultural exchanges.

 

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 27, 2018. Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters

 

Minutes before Kim entered Peace House, a North Korean security team conducted a sweep for explosives and listening devices, as well as sprayed apparent disinfectant in the air, on the chairs, and on a guest book Kim was to sign.

 

Kim's written message in the guest book sounded hopeful.

 

"A new history starts now," he wrote. "An age of peace, from the starting point of history."

 

(Reporting by Christine Kim, Josh Smith and Inter-Korean Summit Press Corps. Writing by Malcolm Foster. Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-04-27

[baboon]

Here is the video footage:

 

[sanemax]

1 hour ago, baboon said:

What, for appointing John Bolton whose idea of negotiations is to dictate the terms of the adversary's capitulation or else the Cruise missiles start flying? Hardly.

However yes this is fantastic news.

How can you claim to know the content of negotiations, when there hasnt yet been any negotiations ?

[baboon]

5 minutes ago, sanemax said:

How can you claim to know the content of negotiations, when there hasnt yet been any negotiations ?

Where did I lay claim to knowing the content of the negotiations?

[sanemax]

4 minutes ago, baboon said:

Where did I lay claim to knowing the content of the negotiations?

In your post # 4

[baboon]

4 minutes ago, sanemax said:

In your post # 4

No I did not. 

"What, for appointing John Bolton whose idea of negotiations..."

Note the omission of the word "the"...

 

 

[sammieuk1]

Shoot the mother you can't miss.

[Tilacme]

So Dennis Rodman was right all along, Kim is a nice guy.

[Srikcir]

6 hours ago, alocacoc said:

That's fantastic.

Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.

Sent from a so called Smartphone using an App.
 

Getting a little ahead of events aren't we?

First, there were no NPP for the first two meetings between North Korea and South Korea. Ultimately those meetings were precursors to failed peace.

Second,

"Moon, who took office in May pledging to restore ties with the North and who has tirelessly called for dialogue, helped steer Kim and Trump toward meeting"

Moon should get the NPP if anyone is entitled to get it.

Third,

Secretary Kerry was instrumental in getting the Iran nuclear deal that ended its development of nuclear weapons development for ten years. Neither he nor Obama got a NPP for such effort.

 

 

[arithai12]

6 hours ago, alocacoc said:

That's fantastic.

Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.

 

I hope you are being sarcastic.

Anyway, if Trump gets a Nobel Prize, he will deny receiving it the next day and say that his lawyer picked it up instead without him knowing.

[F4UCorsair]

It would matter not, even if KJU said, unequivocally, that it was Trump 's (note not "trump") tough talk that made him see sense, the leftie lunatics will say it was otherwise.

 

If Trump is nutty, the left are nuttier.

 

Hell, only another 7 years of President Trump. How unfortunate it can't be 20!!

 

Sent from my SM-G610F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Thaidream]

As an American who has considerable experience in Korea- I find the Moon -Kimm meeting a hopeful event that peace can finally be achieved.  The goal is an end to the Korean war which I am hopeful Trump will agree to along eith President Moon of S. Korea.

 

The denuclearization of the Korean peninsula is the  goal of the Trump-Kim meeting but it will take a lot longer than 6 months and I am hopeful that President Moon will impress on Trump that  for this to happen- there must be patience.  I am worried that Bolton will attempt to scuttle any agreement.  Bolton is a dinosaur who is willing to fight to the last American or Korea but he and his family won't be the ones who perish.

 

I am hopeful Trump will realise he must give something to get something.  He will want to have verification but I would suggest a phased withdrawal of the American Troops on the peninsula with a fallback position in Japan; an American agreement to formally end the Korea War and a signed agreement to not interfere in the internal affairs of either North or South Korea. Let the Koreans work out reunification at their own pace. Time for Americans to go home

 

 

[CharlesSwann]

Kim must have figured out a way to keep the country in his grip, and engage with the rest of the world.

Perhaps he's been studying Thailand.

[FitnessHealthTravel]

Nice start and a great day for the world. I think we are all so desensitized to this that it is hard to see how big it really is. Love or hate him Trump has done what no other US President has done. Let's hope for the sake of the suffering NK people that it works out well for them.

[attrayant]

10 minutes ago, FitnessHealthTravel said:

Trump has done what no other US President has done.

 

Care to enumerate?  So far I see everything happening between the North & South Koreas.  It's possible that Pompeo may have played some beneficial roll, but what exactly has Trump done?

[alocacoc]

Even CNN gives credit to Trump. It's about time.

Sent from a so called Smartphone using an App.

[attrayant]

23 minutes ago, alocacoc said:

Even CNN gives credit to Trump. It's about time.

 

Who was the CNN host? Could you provide a link?  I've just watched two recent CNN clips that appear to be related to the Korean issue and did not hear Trump mentioned even incidentally.

 

Watch Kim Jong Un cross the line at DMZ

 

Will Kim Jong Un ever give up his nukes?

[stevenl]

1 hour ago, FitnessHealthTravel said:

Nice start and a great day for the world. I think we are all so desensitized to this that it is hard to see how big it really is. Love or hate him Trump has done what no other US President has done. Let's hope for the sake of the suffering NK people that it works out well for them.

I think 'in spite of Trump'.

[Credo]

It would appear that the nuclear test site that they are closing is or has collapsed and that radiation may be leaking causing problems for China and NK.    I suspect that the little meeting in Bejing was to warn Kim that enough is enough.   The "not in my backyard' syndrome has kicked in.   

 

Here's a read:

 

This Could Be The Real Reason North Korea Halted Nuclear Testing And It’s Terrifying

The mountain above North Korea’s main nuclear test site Punggye-ri has likely collapsed following a nuclear test last fall, sparking concerns about radioactive fallout and environmental catastrophes, according to geologists at the University of Science and Technology of China.

It comes less than a week after North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un announced the reclusive nation would immediately suspend nuclear and missile tests and scrap its testing site ahead of meetings with the United States and South Korea, now suggesting an alternative reason behind the site’s closure.

“The onsite collapse calls for continued close monitoring of radioactive materials from the nuclear test site,” the geologists wrote in a study that will appear in an upcoming issue of Geophysical Research Letters. 

 

http://www.iflscience.com/policy/this-could-be-the-real-reason-north-korea-halted-nuclear-testing-and-its-terrifying/

[champers]

Yes, Kim is a charmer all of a sudden. He has ruthlessly and sadistically had opponents assassinated, including his half brother and an uncle.

Lest anyone forgets.

[Andaman Al]

This will be like a fishbone in Trump's throat!  Pipped at the post LMAO.

 

Quote

The two leaders solemnly declared before the 80 million Korean people and the whole world that there will be no more war on the Korean Peninsula and thus a new era of peace has begun.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/04/27/the-panmmunjom-declaration-full-text-of-agreement-between-north-korea-and-south-korea/?utm_term=.51d67d982a57

So North and South Korea may have at last sorted things out (notwithstanding the post from Credo above).

 

But this is what Donny wanted credit for in May. All I see now is that Donny has huge scope to screw the whole thing up in May. He cannot bully North Korea any more. No more tough talk. So we are left with his only chance for a war being Iran.

 

He will want his meeting with Kim asap so he can spin the entire thing as his own doing. Moon pledged to bring the two sides together. Well done to him, it looks promising.

 

 

Edited April 27, 2018 by Andaman Al