Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in make historic nuclear pledge
The summit betwen North and South Korea looks to have achieved some historic goals.
The leaders of North and South Korea have agreed to work to rid the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons after holding an historic summit.
The announcement was made by the North’s Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in of South Korea after talks at the border.
The two also agreed to push towards turning the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953 into a peace treaty this year and would look to resolve issues of divided Korean families.
They are also looking to ease military tensions when their respective defence ministers meet in May and agreed on the first day of the same month to end all propaganda activities, including the use of loudspeakers and the dropping of leaflets.
In a sense, the vague statement by the leaders to achieve “a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula through complete denuclearisation” kicks the issue down the road to a much-anticipated summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump in coming weeks.
Even so, the Koreas’ historic summit on Friday might be remembered as much for the striking images of two men from nations with a deep and bitter history of acrimony holding each other’s hands and grinning from ear to ear as they crossed back into the North and then returned again to the South after Kim first made history by walking over the border to greet Moon. Kim was the first North Korean leader to touch southern soil since the end of the Korean War. It marks a surreal swing in relations for the Koreas, from nuclear threats and missile tests to intimations of peace and cooperation.
Key points of the joint statement
* ‘Denuclearisation’
“South and North Korea confirmed the common goal of realising, through complete denuclearisation, a nuclear-free Korean peninsula. South and North Korea shared the view that the measures being initiated by North Korea are very meaningful and crucial for the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and agreed to carry out their respective roles and responsibilities in this regard. South and North Korea agreed to actively seek the support and cooperation of the international community for the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.”
* ‘Peace regime’
“During this year that marks the 65th anniversary of the Armistice, South and North Korea agreed to actively pursue trilateral meetings involving the two Koreas and the United States, or quadrilateral meetings involving the two Koreas, the United States and China with a view to declaring an end to the War and establishing a permanent and solid peace regime.”
* ‘Pyongyang visit’
“The two leaders agreed, through regular meetings and direct telephone conversations, to hold frequent and candid discussions on issues vital to the nation, to strengthen mutual trust and to jointly endeavour to strengthen the positive momentum towards continuous advancement of inter-Korean relations as well as peace, prosperity and unification of the Korean Peninsula. In this context, President Moon Jae-In agreed to visit Pyongyang this fall.”
* ‘Family reunions’
“South and North Korea agreed to endeavour to swiftly resolve the humanitarian issues that resulted from the division of the nation, and to convene the Inter-Korean Red Cross Meeting to discuss and solve various issues including the reunion of separated families. In this vein, South and North Korea agreed to proceed with reunion programs for the separated families on the occasion of the National Liberation Day of August 15 this year.”
* ‘Joining sporting forces’
“On the international front, the two sides agreed to demonstrate their collective wisdom, talents and solidarity by jointly participating in international sporting events such as the 2018 Asian Games.”
* Disarmament
“South and North Korea agreed to carry out disarmament in a phased manner, as military tension is alleviated and substantial progress is made in military confidence-building.”
World leaders respond
United States President Donald Trump has delivered a series of tweets praising the new moves towards peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Mr Trump suggested that the Korean War would be over and that Chinese President Xi Jinping was largely to thank.
KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2018
After a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place. Good things are happening, but only time will tell!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2018
Please do not forget the great help that my good friend, President Xi of China, has given to the United States, particularly at the Border of North Korea. Without him it would have been a much longer, tougher, process!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2018
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe welcomed the historic summit between the two Koreas urging Pyongyang to take “concrete action” on the peninsula’s denuclearisation and other issues.
“Today President Moon Jae-in and Chairman Kim Jong Un held earnest discussions about North Korea’s denuclearisation. I want to welcome that as a positive move toward comprehensive resolution of various issues concerning North Korea,” Abe told reporters in Tokyo.
“We strongly hope that North Korea will take concrete action through this meeting and a summit between the US and North Korea.”
Russia also praised a landmark summit between the leaders of the two Koreas as “very positive news”, saying direct dialogue on the divided peninsula was promising.
“This is very positive news,” President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “Today we see that this direct dialogue has taken place (and) it has certain prospects,” he said
‘Firing flare at history’s start’
Kim earlier told his South Korean counterpart the two men are at the “starting line” of history as they sat down for historic talks in the Korea border town of Panmunjom today.
“I feel like I’m firing a flare at the starting line in the moment of (the two Koreas) writing a new history in North-South relations, peace and prosperity,” Mr Kim told Moon Jae-in as they sat at a table, its precise dimension of 2018mm separating them, to begin their closed-door talks.
Mr Moon responded that there were high expectations that they produce an agreement that will be a “big gift to the entire Korean nation and every peace loving person in the world.”
Mr Kim added that he was ready for “heartfelt, sincere and honest” talks with President Moon Jae-in and stressed that the Koreas must not repeat the past where they were “unable to fulfil our agreements.”
As they started summit at the Peace House, Mr Kim joked that he hoped Mr 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.”
In response, Mr Moon said there were high expectations that the leaders produce an agreement that would please the people of Koreas and also “every peace-loving person in the world.”
Korean leaders opening comments were broadcast live. Kim talked about a "new beginning" and joked about Pyongyang cold noodles and Moon called for a "courageous and bold decision" pic.twitter.com/mk6F0xzlLn
— Nicola Smith (@niccijsmith) April 27, 2018
In Perth, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he hoped the meeting between the Korean leaders would be the beginning of steps leading to denuclearisation, but warned that the world had seen “false dawns” from North Korea before.
“We welcome, but with caution, these meetings and the remarks that have been made by Kim Jong-un, but we have seen this before, we have had false dawns before on the Korean Peninsula, so that is why it is really important to maintain the pressure of the sanctions,” Mr Turnbull said.
“It is the economic sanctions that have brought this apparent change in attitude, and that pressure has to be maintained, but the goal is denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.”
As he entered the Peace House Mr Kim wrote an optimistic message in the visitors’ book.
After making history by walking across the border to the southern side of the world’s most heavily armed border and warmly greeting Mr Moon, Mr Kim wrote in the visitors’ book: “A new history begins now - at the starting point of history and the era of peace.”
Kim Jong Un's message in guestbook at #InterKoreanSummit: "A new history begins now - at the starting point of history and the era of peace." pic.twitter.com/PwAbibgmlW
— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) April 27, 2018
He told Mr Moon: “I came here determined to send a starting signal at the threshold of a new history,” and promised a “frank, serious and honest mindset”.
Mr Moon told the North Korean leader: “We are preparing to take the leading role in a great transition in world history: a complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, the establishment of a permanent peace and the sustainable development of relations between the South and North.”
A joint statement was expected to include a symbolic declaration of an end to hostilities, although this would not have binding force until it was incorporated into a peace treaty also signed by the US and China.
Other possible confidence-building steps include a mutual withdrawal of forces in the border zone, reunions of elderly people separated from their families by the war, and the future resumption of joint projects such as a mountain holiday resort in the North.
After lunch — eaten separately, with Mr Kim crossing briefly back into North Korea — the two leaders will continue the talks before attending a ceremony at which a pine tree will be planted on the demarcation line. The transplanted specimen, seeded in 1953, will be placed in soil brought from Mount Paektu in North Korea and Mount Halla in South Korea.
In the evening the leaders will share a ten-course banquet featuring noodles from a renowned Pyongyang restaurant and the Swiss potato dish rosti, an allusion to Mr Kim’s teenage years at a school in Switzerland. A closing ceremony was to include the screening of a short film entitled A New Spring Enjoyed Together.
According to South Korean reports, Mr Moon will telephone Mr Trump later to brief him on the summit.
Earlier, the two leaders exchanged a warm handshake over the demarcation line, with Mr Moon telling Mr Kim: “I am happy to meet you.” Mr Moon also briefly stepped into the North before walking back.
More photos of North Korea's Kim Jong Un and South Korea's Moon Jae-in's historic meeting. pic.twitter.com/YwVX6uIDju
— ABS-CBN News Channel (@ANCALERTS) April 27, 2018
It was all smiles as Mr Moon grasped Mr Kim’s hand and led him along a red carpet into South Korean territory, where schoolchildren placed flowers around their necks and an honour guard stood at attention for inspection.
Two fifth-grade students from the Daesongdong Elementary School, the only South Korean school within the DMZ, greeted the leaders and gave them flowers.
The two leaders then saluted the honour guard and military band, and Mr Moon introduced Mr Kim to South Korean government officials. Kim returned the favour with the North Korean officials accompanying him, including Mr Kim’s sister Kim Yo Jong.
They went on to pose for photographs inside the Peace House, where the summit will take place, in front of a painting of South Korea’s Bukhan Mountain, which towers over the South Korean Blue House presidential mansion.
Kuzey Kore lideri Kim ve Güney Kore Devlet Başkanı Moon bir araya geldi https://t.co/9eCp23fIQr pic.twitter.com/OsaV8Uba8w
— Sputnik Türkiye (@sputnik_TR) April 27, 2018
In a news briefing on Thursday, Im Jong-seok, Seoul’s presidential chief of staff, said the summit would be difficult and he couldn’t make promises about what agreements the leaders would reach on denuclearisation.
“North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ICBMs have become highly sophisticated. This makes the current denuclearisation discussions fundamentally different from the early 1990s and the early 2000s,” he said.
Kim walks south to meet rival
Kim Jong-un will this morning become the first North Korean leader to visit South Korea as part of efforts to formally end the 68-year-old conflict between the two states.
He has left Pyongyang for the border crossing of Panmunjom, where he and his heavyweight delegation will walk across the military demarcation line that marks the frontier. There, President Moon will welcome him to South Korea.
President Moon has also left Seoul for Panmunjom, making his way to the border in a large motorcade.
The summit holds the potential to bring the two sides closer to peace than at any time since 1953, when the Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a treaty. It may also help to set the parameters of another unprecedented meeting, between Mr Kim and President Trump, planned for May or June.
Mr Moon said: “We are preparing to take the leading role in a great transition in world history: a complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, the establishment of a permanent peace and the sustainable development of relations between the South and North.”
A joint statement is expected to include a symbolic declaration of an end to hostilities, although this would not have binding force until it was incorporated into a peace treaty also signed by the US and China. Other possible confidence-building steps include a mutual withdrawal of forces in the border zone, reunions of elderly people separated from their families by the war, and the future resumption of joint projects such as a mountain holiday resort in the North.
Hours before the summit Mr Trump shared new details about the visit by Mike Pompeo — confirmed today as his new secretary of state — to Pyongyang over Easter. He had not expected to meet Mr Kim, Mr Trump said, but they had spoken for more than an hour and “had a great meeting”.
He promised to release “great pictures” of the event soon.
Central to the success of Mr Kim’s talks with Mr Moon will be the language used in reference to denuclearisation. US officials have claimed that the North Korean leader is ready to talk about giving up his nuclear ballistic missiles, but independent analysts consider this unlikely, until the US makes large concessions such as diplomatic recognition of the North, the removal from the South of US troops, and a peace treaty.
Panmunjom was the venue for the bitter, protracted negotiations that finally led to the end of fighting in 1953. Mr Kim was expected to walk between the two blue huts where the two sides have met over the years at times of recrimination and tension. He and Mr Moon would then stroll 200 metres to Peace House, a modern, three-storey building, to jointly inspect an honour guard of South Korean soldiers before beginning the talks.
After lunch — eaten separately, with Mr Kim crossing briefly back into North Korea — the two leaders were due to continue the talks before attending a ceremony at which a pine tree would be planted on the demarcation line. The transplanted specimen, seeded in 1953, was to be placed in soil brought from Mount Paektu in North Korea and Mount Halla in South Korea.
In the evening they were scheduled to share a ten-course banquet featuring noodles from a renowned Pyongyang restaurant and the Swiss potato dish rosti, an allusion to Mr Kim’s teenage years at a school in Switzerland. A closing ceremony was to include the screening of a short film entitled A New Spring Enjoyed Together.
According to South Korean reports, Mr Moon will telephone Mr Trump later to brief him on the summit. The two men have already agreed to meet in person in the US before Mr Trump’s meeting with Mr Kim.
The US and South Korea agreed to suspend their joint military exercises while the summit was taking place.
Mr Kim is accompanied by the nominal head of state, Kim Yong-nam, 90, who led the North’s delegation at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang in February. The only woman from the North expected to be present was Mr Kim’s sister Kim Yo-jong, 30, who also visited PyeongChang, and who proposed the summit to Mr Moon.
Bishop discussed summit with Pompeo
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said she had discussed the Korean leaders’ summit during a phone conversation with newly confirmed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Ms Bishop said Secretary Pompeo had also reassured her that the appointment of a US Ambassador to Australia was one of his highest priorities, after the White House this week backtracked on its appointment of Admiral Harry Harris as the next US ambassador to Australia, instead choosing to send him to South Korea.
Ms Bishop said Mr Pompeo had been confirmed as Secretary of State only a few hours before leaving the US to travel to a NATO meeting and had called her during his flight.
“I understand it was one of his earliest calls since his confirmation, and we were reassured that the Australia-United States relationship is the strongest that it has ever been, and we committed to resolving challenges as partners, as friends, as allies, wherever and however we could do so,” she said.
Ms Bishop said the Korean leaders’ meeting represented the first time in 65 years that a leader from North Korea had crossed the border into South Korea and the first time in a decade the two leaders had met.
“We see this as an opportunity for North Korea to demonstrate verifiable steps that it will take to verifiable steps that it will take to denuclearise, not only to stop its illegal nuclear weapons and ballistic missile testing, but also to denuclearise,” Ms Bishop said.
“I had a conversation with earlier this week with the Republic of Korea’s Foreign Minister Kang (Kyung-wha), and she assured me is that the issue of denuclearisation was on the table and we await with anticipation the outcome of these talks.”
Ms Bishop said Australia should maintain its expectations regarding denuclearisation.
“This is a first step, a preliminary step, and as you point out, North Korea has in the past made promises, signed agreements, yet failed to honour them, so we cautiously welcome this summit,” she said.
“It is a first in many years for the two leaders to meet. For a North Korean leader to cross the border into the southern side of the demilitarised zone is quite some progress, but we will see how the discussion progresses and whether there are any particular outcomes.
“I have been assured by South Korea’s Foreign Minister Kang that we will receive a briefing on the meeting next week.”
The Times
Additional reporting: Rachel Baxendale
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