Korean leaders aim for end of war, 'complete denuclearisation' after historic summit

[snoop1130]

Korean leaders aim for end of war, 'complete denuclearisation' after historic summit

By Christine Kim and Josh Smith

 

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gesture after signing agreements during 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

 

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in embraced after pledging on Friday to work for the "complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula," punctuating a day of smiles and handshakes at the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade.

 

The two Koreas announced they would work with the United States and China this year to declare an official end to the 1950s Korean war and seek an agreement to establish "permanent" and "solid" peace in its place.

 

The declaration included promises to pursue phased military arms reduction, cease hostile acts, transform their fortified border into a peace zone, and seek multilateral talks with other countries including 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 declaration said.

 

Earlier, Kim became the first North Korean leader since the 1950-53 Korean War to set foot in South Korea after shaking hands with his counterpart over a concrete curb marking the border in the heavily fortified demilitarised zone between the countries.

 

Scenes of Moon and Kim joking and walking together marked a striking contrast to last year's barrage of North Korean missile tests and its largest ever nuclear test that led to sweeping international sanctions and fears of a fresh conflict on the Korean peninsula.

 

Their dramatic meeting comes weeks before Kim is due to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in what would be the first ever meeting between sitting leaders of the two countries.

 

Moon agreed to visit Pyongyang later this year, according to the declaration.

 

As part of efforts to reduce tensions, the two sides agreed to open a liaison office, stop propaganda broadcasts and leaflet drops along the border, and allow Korean families divided by the border to meet.

 

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 there was widespread scepticism about whether Kim is ready to abandon the nuclear arsenal his country has defended and developed for decades as what it says is a necessary deterrent against U.S. invasion.

 

It's not the first time leaders of North and South Korea have declared their hope for peace, and two earlier summits, in Pyongyang in 2000 and 2007, failed to halt the North's weapons programmes or improve relations in a lasting way.

 

"We will make efforts to create good results by communicating closely, in order to make sure our agreement signed today before the entire world, will not end as just a beginning like previous agreements before today," Kim said after the agreement was signed.

 

FIRST ACROSS THE LINE

 

Earlier, Moon greeted Kim at the military demarcation line where the men smiled and shook hands.

 

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

 

"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, wearing his customary black Mao suit.

 

"A new history starts now. An age of peace, from the starting point of history," Kim wrote in Korean in a guest book in the South's Peace House before talks began.

 

Minutes before Kim entered Peace House, a North Korean security team conducted a sweep for explosives and listening devices, and sprayed what appeared to be disinfectant in the air, on the chairs, and on the guest book.

 

The two leaders released their joint declaration before attending a dinner hosted by Moon.

 

During a private meeting in the morning, Kim told Moon he came to the summit to end the history of conflict and joked he was sorry for waking Moon up with his early morning missile tests, the official said.

 

UNENDING HOSTILITIES

 

The United States is hopeful talks 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 the North made rapid advances in pursuit of nuclear-armed missiles capable of hitting the United States.

 

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 latest Korean 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.

 

(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

[riclag]

Like to see this all happen.

[car720]

Spraying disinfectant in case Moon was planning to do to him what he did to his own brother in Malaysia.

 

[AsiaHand]

The North Korean atomic bomb test were stoped at 6 test,as were the test in India and Pakistan.India and Pakistan having achieved the knowledge to becone nucluer powers in that time. So North Korea can claim to have turned over a new leave while continuing enrich their nucluer power with our further test.If they achieve the actions of getting the South to remove the US troops from the south then the North can have the South where they want. Jim Jong-un is not stupid.With only their allies of Japan and Singapore to worry about,The US military will have no use for a large support group in Asia even lowering the  risk of The US military  rapid assistance should (when) the North desides to invade.It will happen in our life time.

[Skeptic7]

Looks very hopeful and Kim Jong Un could make quite a name and historical legacy for himself. However, similar charades have taken place in the past without much real success. Hopefully this time is different. 

[Thaidream]

The Us military will not withdraw from South Korea unless the North has actually denuclearized meaning completely dismantled their systems and turned over their current nuclear weapons stockpile to an agreed source (UN; china etc).  In addition- there must be a complete and accurate inspection protocol established.  Once all this is accomplished the US will withdraw most likely to Japan or possibly Vietnam; Singapore or another willing country.

 

IMHO- the first step is the Trump-Kim meeting which  should set up all the things that will need to be agreed upon-

- A Peace treaty ending the Korean War-  Between SKorea and the North and also with the US and the other participants of the Korea War  (Thailand included)

-Recognition of NKorea as a  sovereign country and the establishment of diplomatic ties

-A pact guaranteeing the  US will not invade the North

-Economic assistance to the North after sanctions have been lifted

-Timetable for the actual elimination of nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula

-Inspection Protocols

_Timetable for Us military withdrawal

 

Trump seems to think all this can be done in 6 months.  He's dreaming the impossible. Just to be able to remove the nuclear weapons and establish inspection protocols will take at least 2 years.  The complete program of denuclearization and implementation of  all the negotiations will take 5 years, but  as the song goes- Let's give peace a chance.

[sukhumvitneon]

I've got a mop and bucket ready for all of the exploded Democrat heads if this deal actually goes through.

[stevenl]

38 minutes ago, sukhumvitneon said:

I've got a mop and bucket ready for all of the exploded Democrat heads if this deal actually goes through.

Huh? Your post doesn't make sense to me, why would Democrat heads explode?

[Thaidream]

I'm not ready to award Trump the Nobel Peace Prize because his grandstanding and bellicose manmer pushed the World to a potential nuclear confrontation. This was recklish and fraught with potential disaster.

 

However,  cooler heads have prevailed and that includes Secretary of Defense Mattis who was totally opposed to going to war and of course S Korean President Moon who is really the one who pushed the peace process and I am  certain had a direct hand in getting Mr Kim to the peace table.  Now the onus is on Trump to not scuttle the process by making demands that are impossible in the hope Kim will agree to them or make timelines that can't reasonably be kept.  The peace process is a step by step process in which one moves forward incrementally. If Trump  doesn't listen to Bolton who wants war at any cost and listens to  the South Koreans and Americans who have spent decades studying the North Koreans-  peace may have a chance.

[opalred]

keep the idiot away/ trump wanted a war to take the mullers probe off him 

now he will start one with Iran  again to get attention away from probes on his money laundering 

[FreddieRoyle]

38 minutes ago, opalred said:

keep the idiot away/ trump wanted a war to take the mullers probe off him 

now he will start one with Iran  again to get attention away from probes on his money laundering 

Trump the deal maker put real pressure on KJU, as opposed to empty words and showboating from his predecessors. This new peace on the Korean peninsula is 100% thanks to Trump and his strong actions. It is not surprising that the liberal media is trying to avoid Trump's success here, but trust me, us regular Joes are cheering him. Like we said after the election Trump could fix the economy, drain the swamp and bring peace to the Korean peninsula and the liberal media would still be banging on about some nonsense or other - we were right.

[Jingthing]

I support peace talks.

I will celebrate if real peace is achieved.

I will give "trump" the credit that he is due if that is achieved.

I will never see it as 100 percent to his credit as he's already bragging about even though this is only the beginning and there are clearly other major players.

I will never ever support "trump" though. 

There are just too many really bad things about him even if he achieves a major success.

[alocacoc]

keep the idiot away/ trump wanted a war to take the mullers probe off him 
now he will start one with Iran  again to get attention away from probes on his money laundering 

Do you really believe that? Your sarcastic, right?

Otherwise I feel deeply sorry for you.

Sent from a so called Smartphone using an App.

[opalred]

watch the latest news i was right he has up the antics on iran

i would have a bet kim wont meet the idiot trump unless china or other country's are there at a meeting

sorry if you are from usa /your world ratings have dropped to number 3 and will continuing to fall under the con man

[Kiwiken]

On 4/28/2018 at 4:01 AM, AsiaHand said:

The North Korean atomic bomb test were stoped at 6 test,as were the test in India and Pakistan.India and Pakistan having achieved the knowledge to becone nucluer powers in that time. So North Korea can claim to have turned over a new leave while continuing enrich their nucluer power with our further test.If they achieve the actions of getting the South to remove the US troops from the south then the North can have the South where they want. Jim Jong-un is not stupid.With only their allies of Japan and Singapore to worry about,The US military will have no use for a large support group in Asia even lowering the  risk of The US military  rapid assistance should (when) the North desides to invade.It will happen in our life time.

Unless the North used Nukes their military would not cut it against the South. I suggest you research the two Koreas Military Equipment and training. I think you would find the North would be annihilated by the South on its own.

[lovelomsak]

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I support peace talks.

I will celebrate if real peace is achieved.

I will give "trump" the credit that he is due if that is achieved.

I will never see it as 100 percent to his credit as he's already bragging about even though this is only the beginning and there are clearly other major players.

I will never ever support "trump" though. 

There are just too many really bad things about him even if he achieves a major success.

Jingthing this post showed a lot of character good for you. 

Edited April 29, 2018 by lovelomsak

[Jingthing]

1 hour ago, lovelomsak said:

Jingthing this post showed a lot of character good for you. 

Thanks, but I don't think it's very exceptional. I think the vast majority of Americans including the most passionate opponents of "trump" will be very happy to see the Korea situation at least majorly defused and even better a more permanent peace. "trump" is the U.S. president now and the U.S. is a major player in that situation also directly involving of course China and South Korea. So if there is improvement it would be dishonest not to give deserved credit to any U.S. president.

 

A caveat I might have depending on what develops is that I can imagine a fake "PR" peace that is clearly built on nothing that is paraded as significant, but isn't. "trump" is betting a lot on this situation and I do think there is a chance he will get behind some weak B.S., and prematurely claim "peace victory" and full credit for political reasons. 

 

There are already warning signs that he's prone to do that already on twitter. He's so hungry for the big historic win that in a sense it puts the U.S. in a weaker negotiating position. Keep in mind that "trump" is an extremely bizarre person with extremely bizarre psychological needs. He's rather easy to play. 

 

But of course HOPING something much better than that actually happens. 

 

To add, it's worth comparing to Nixon. Also a very unpopular and rather a nutcase president that actually was impeached and pressured to resign (which he happily did). But Nixon did open up China. He got credit for that and deserved it, but the overall context was a disgraced and failed presidency. 

Edited April 29, 2018 by Jingthing

[Basil B]

5 hours ago, stevenl said:

We already had that discussion in another thread about this.

 

IMO this result is despite Trump, not thanks to him.

Unfortunately the are too many redneck hill billy types that think the sun shines out his arse...

[simple1]

Could be a devious play by China to try and get Trump re-elected in 2020 so Trump can roll out more policies to further divide, thereby weaken, the US domestically and ultimately internationally

Edited April 30, 2018 by simple1

[lannarebirth]

16 hours ago, opalred said:

watch the latest news i was right he has up the antics on iran

i would have a bet kim wont meet the idiot trump unless china or other country's are there at a meeting

sorry if you are from usa /your world ratings have dropped to number 3 and will continuing to fall under the con man

Ratings for what?

[EnlightenedAtheist]

20 hours ago, FreddieRoyle said:

Trump the deal maker put real pressure on KJU, as opposed to empty words and showboating from his predecessors. This new peace on the Korean peninsula is 100% thanks to Trump and his strong actions. It is not surprising that the liberal media is trying to avoid Trump's success here, but trust me, us regular Joes are cheering him. Like we said after the election Trump could fix the economy, drain the swamp and bring peace to the Korean peninsula and the liberal media would still be banging on about some nonsense or other - we were right.

100%? YCBS (You cannot be serious!)

 

Deal-maker? Define "deal"? Is a deal when you tell someone that if you do not do this, I will kill you? 

 

While I am not a Dem. or a Con. because they represent pretty well the same corporate (incl. arms sales) and multinational interests (by doing nothing or protecting them). The whole system is so fucket up by idiots who believe that one group is the answer to all the problems. 

[wabothai]

Little Kim outsmarted Don the con, love it.

[Jingthing]

Some more details about how "trump" may be getting played. His big ego, ya know? 

 

Quote

 

Trump has already been ‘played’

Luring Trump in with happy talk and compliments.

President Trump looks with disdain on those who get snookered, which is odd since he’s the easiest of marks for anyone with a red carpet and a batch of insincere compliments.

 

 

 

http://www.paywallnews.com/life/Opinion-|-Trump-has-already-been-‘played’.S1g42omTz.html

Edited April 30, 2018 by Jingthing