3rd Inter-Korean Summit
The Gradual Rapprochement of South and North Korea
In front of Admiral Yi Sun-shin's statue, a temporary booth was built, so to recall the April 27th, when Moon and Kim first shaked hands with each other.
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For the third time in 2018 Moon Jae-in, the South Korean president, and his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-un met in Pyongyang this week for holding a three-day Inter-Korean Summit.
The summit started on Tuesday, September 18th, when Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook arrived at Pyongyang Sunan International Airport. Not only were they personally welcomed by Kim Jong-un, his wife Ri Sol-ju and his younger sister Kim Yo-jong, but also by a crowd of North Korean men and women in their traditional Korean clothing called Hanbok, who were cheering and waving North Korean or unification flags as well as flowers. After jointly watching the North Korean’s military honor guard, Moon and Kim were driving through Pyongyang waving from an open-topped vehicle to citizens.
The second day of the Inter-Korean Summit was of significant importance, as it was the beginning of the political talks between Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un. Besides an agreement of the ministers of defence, which encompasses the objectives of forming a joint military committee, putting an end to artillery exercises close to the border as well as reducing the number of sentinels, the Pyongyang Declaration was signed by Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un. Its major aims are to reunite families, which were separated due to the Korean War, to connect the rail network systems, as well as to reopen the special industrial administrative region of Kaesong, which however for now has to remain on hold due to the UN sanctions in place. In addition, both Koreas wish to apply jointly for the Summer Olympics in 2032. After these common settlements, a gymnastics performance was held in the May Day Stadium followed by a speech by Moon Jae-in in front of 150.000 North Koreans.
On the last day of the Inter-Korean Summit an excursion to Baekdu (Paektu) Mountain was planned. The mountain, which is located on the North Korean and Chinese border, has a great significance in Korean mythology, as it represents the origin of the Korean people. After the trip, Moon Jae-in, his wife and his delegation of nearly 200 people returned directly to Seoul, South Korea.
Flags promoting the unification of South and North Korea.
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After the Inter-Korean summit, various questions may be raised in regard to the agreements made and the corresponding implementation in the future. On the one side, President Moon’s secretary Yoon Young-chan is right when stating that for now it is of a higher importance to keep the conversations between South and North Korea going. However, on the other hand it is important to be wary, as in the past North Korea has often proven itself to be unpredictable.
In case it is of interest to you, below you may find additional information on the prior occurrences leading to last week's Inter-Korean summit.
Statue of Brothers in front of the War Memorial of Korea in Seoul.
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Background Information
2000s:
Already in the years 2000 and 2007 the leaders of South and North Korea have met to discuss peace and cooperation. These meetings of the South Korean presidents Kim Dae-jung in 2000 and Roh Moo-hyun in 2007 with Kim Jong-il, the father of the current North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, however, didn’t prove to be successful, as in the following years the conflict between the two countries deteriorated.
April 27th, 2018:
11 years after the last meeting in Pyongyang, Moon Jae-in, South Korea’s current president, and Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, have met for the first time in Panmunjom village located in the demilitarized zone, an area separating the two countries in the hope of minimizing conflicts. By stepping across the border Kim Jong-un was the first North Korean leader to visit South Korea since the end of the Korean war in 1953. Besides this historic moment, the main topics to be discussed were the North Korean denuclearization as well as a lasting peace agreement. Although the outcomes of the meeting were rather limited, they agreed on another meeting in autumn taking place in Pyongyang.
May 26th, 2018:
One month later a second meeting between Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un took place. This time the two leaders met up on the North Korean side of the Panmunjom village and talked mainly about the conditions for a meeting to happen between Trump and Kim, which came to a halt as Donald Trump cancelled it due to prior tensions between the two nations.
June 12th, 2018:
Although the previous tensions mentioned above, eventually the summit meeting of Trump and Kim was held in Singapore. Thus, it was the first time that a US president met up with a leader of North Korea. The outcome, although concessions were made on both sides, e.g. North Korea committing itself to denuclearization and the US considering pausing joint military drills with South Korea, was criticized for missing integral details and for being extremely imprecise.