Kim’s decision to meet on Moon’s side of the military demarcation line – making him the first North Korean leader to set foot in South Korea – reflects new confidence in his country’s bargaining power.
International News : When Kim Jong Un crosses the border dividing the two Koreas to shake hands with southern counterpart Moon Jae-in on Friday, his footsteps will be laden with symbolism.
Kim’s decision to meet on Moon’s side of the military demarcation line – making him the first North Korean leader to set foot in South Korea – reflects new confidence in his country’s bargaining power. He’s showing that he feels secure enough to leave his isolated capital after developing a nuclear arsenal capable of threatening Moon’s protectors in Washington, as well as Seoul.
“This is major,” said David Kang, director of the Korean Studies Institute at the University of Southern California. “He is losing all the optics that others accuse him of – wanting to pretend that he is at the center of the world and that whoever is visiting is a dignitary coming to kowtow.”
The venue – at the “Truce Village” of Panmunjom where the armistice was signed – is only one change from the previous inter-Korean summits in 2000 and 2007 that were held in Pyongyang. This meeting is intended to facilitate negotiations over Kim’s nuclear weapons program, rather than reward their results.
Kim Jong Un is expected to cross the border around 9:30 a.m., Seoul time, when he’ll be welcomed by Moon and an honor guard, Soutisorea said Thursday. The pair are expected to begin their summit around 10:30 a.m. and announce any agreements in the afternoon before jointly attending a banquet.
The event will set up a historic meeting between the North Korean leader and US President Donald Trump some time by early June. The unprecedented encounter, which observers say could either finally resolve the 68-year-old Korean War or create conditions for a new one, has infused every gesture and remark between Kim and Moon with gravity.
In recent weeks, Kim, whose government has often derided the South Koreans as US “vassals,’’ has emphasized reconciliation and flexibility. On Friday, he extended his freeze on nuclear weapons testing as part of a shift toward greater emphasis on the economy.
The moves have raised expectations that the two sides could announce some breakthrough, such as declaring an end to their enduring war. That could open the door for formal peace talks and a security guarantee from the US – a crucial step to convincing Kim to disarm.
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