Trump’s 20 steps behind enemy lines
Donald Trump has became the first sitting US President to set foot in North Korea.
Donald Trump has become the first sitting US president to set foot in North Korea, making 20 extraordinary steps over the border at the invitation of Kim Jong-un before announcing the resumption of nuclear talks with the pariah nation and inviting the North’s leader to Washington.
Mr Trump, who requested the meeting via Twitter a day earlier, declared it a “very legendary, very historic day”, while Kim described the unprecedented event as a “very courageous and determined act”.
The leaders shook hands and smiled widely in front of stunned minders and journalists at the heavily fortified Demilitarised Zone, marking a return to face-to-face contact between the leaders after talks broke down during a February summit in Vietnam.
“Big moment, big moment,” Mr Trump said.
“It is good to see you again. I never expected to meet you in this place,” Kim told the President through an interpreter.
After about a minute on the north side of the border, Mr Trump and Kim walked together back across the line into South Korea, where they addressed the media before taking their meeting behind closed doors for another 53 minutes.
Mr Trump said the two nations would now set up teams to start work on denuclearisation talks within two to three weeks.
“Speed is not the object. We want to see if we can do a really comprehensive, good deal,” Mr Trump said.
“Nobody knows how things turn out but certainly this was a great day, this was a very legendary, very historic day.”
Kim hailed the moment, saying of Trump: “I believe this is an expression of his willingness to eliminate all the unfortunate past and open a new future.”
Scott Morrison praised Mr Trump’s unexpected gesture, claiming the world should be grateful to the US President for his persistence in pursuing peace on the Korean peninsula.
“You can never underestimate what the President will do to get a breakthrough,” the Prime Minister told The Australian.
“He doesn’t give up. For the sake of the peace and security of our world, we should be thankful. Nice work Mr President.”
But significant doubts remain about the future of the negotiations and the North’s willingness to give up its stockpile of nuclear weapons. The North has yet to provide an accounting of its nuclear stockpile, let alone begin the process of dismantling its arsenal.
Mr Trump asked his North Korean counterpart to attend the meeting on his favourite social media service, tweeting on Saturday: “I will be leaving Japan for South Korea (with President Moon). While there, if Chairman Kim of North Korea sees this, I would meet him at the Border/DMZ just to shake his hand and say Hello(?)!”
The President’s brief crossing into North Korean territory marked the latest milestone in two years of rollercoaster diplomacy between the two nations, which has seen personal taunts and threats to destroy each other’s nation, and declarations of “love” and flowery letters.
Mr Trump said relations with North Korea had been “a fiery mess” at the end of the Obama administration but for 2½ years there had been “nothing but peace”. He brushed off recent “small” tests of missiles by the rogue state, saying they were missiles “practically everyone tests”.
Mr Trump said economic sanctions against North Korea would remain but “at some point during the negotiation things can happen”. He said he had invited the North Korean leader to the US, potentially even the White House.
“I would invite him right now,” Mr Trump said, standing next to Kim, who speaking through a translator, reciprocated that it would be an “honour” to invite Mr Trump to Pyongyang “at the right time”.
Australian Strategic Policy Institute executive director Peter Jennings said only Mr Trump and Kim believed they were making progress “but there is enough in it for the both of them to continue playing the fiction”.
“I think it is inevitable the intelligence community collectively says to the President ‘we’re worried about this. We now think they have got X number of weapons’, whatever that number will be. What will the President do? Dismiss that as fake news?”
ADDITIONAL REPORTING: AP
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