The leaders of North and South Korea have agreed to work to rid the peninsula of nuclear weapons, after holding a 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.
The summit came just months after warlike rhetoric from North Korea.
Speaking at a banquet after Friday’s talks, Mr Kim hailed the progress he said had been made.
“We bade farewell to the frozen relationship between North and South Korea, which was a nightmare. And we announced the beginning of a warm spring to the world,” he said.
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What is in the agreement?
Details of how denuclearisation would be achieved were not made clear and many analysts remain sceptical about the North’s apparent enthusiasm for engagement.
An issue for the North is the security guarantee extended by the US, a nuclear power, to South Korea and Japan and its military presence in both countries.
Previous inter-Korean agreements have included similar pledges but were later abandoned after the North resorted to nuclear and missile tests and the South elected more conservative presidents.
Mr Kim said the two leaders had agreed to work to prevent a repeat of the region’s “unfortunate history” in which progress had “fizzled out”.
“There may be backlash, hardship and frustration,” he said, adding: “A victory cannot be achieved without pain.”
Kim Jong-un makes pledge for peace with South Korea
Other points the leaders agreed on in a joint statement were:
- An end to “hostile activities” between the two nations
- Changing the demilitarised zone (DMZ) that divides the country into a “peace zone” by ceasing propaganda broadcasts
- An arms reduction in the region pending the easing of military tension
- To push for four-way talks involving the US and China
- Organising a reunion of families left divided by the war
- Connecting and modernising railways and roads across the border
- Further joint participation in sporting events, including this year’s Asian Games
The commitment to denuclearisation does not explicitly refer to North Korea halting its nuclear activities but rather the aim of “a nuclear-free Korean peninsula”.
The two countries have also agreed to seek international support to reach this goal, the joint statement says.
What do China and the US say?
China later praised the political determination and courage of both leaders and said it hoped the momentum could be maintained.
US President Donald Trump also welcomed the news, tweeting that “good things are happening”.
The moment Kim Jong-un crossed into South Korea
Mr Kim is due to meet Mr Trump in the coming weeks. Speaking in Washington, Mr Trump said the meeting would take place in one of two countries under consideration and vowed he would not be “played” by the North Korean leader.
“We will come up with a solution and if we don’t we’ll leave the room,” he said.
New US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo – who earlier this month travelled secretly to Pyongyang to meet Mr Kim – said his impression was that Mr Kim was serious about reaching a deal.
“The economic pressure put in place by this global effort that President Trump has led has led him to believe that it’s in his best interest to come to the table and talk about denuclearisation,” he said, speaking at a Nato meeting in Brussels.
How did Friday’s summit unfold?
The leaders were met by an honour guard in traditional costume on the South Korean side. The pair walked to the Peace House in Panmunjom, a military compound in the DMZ.
Mr Kim then invited the South Korean president to step briefly across the demarcation line into North Korea, before the pair stepped back into South Korea – all the while holding hands.
It was an apparently unscripted moment during a highly choreographed sequence of events.
The two leaders spoke together during a session broadcast live on South Korean TV.
Mr Kim jokingly apologised to Mr Moon for repeatedly forcing him to get up early because of the North’s missile and nuclear tests.
“I heard you [President Moon] had your early morning sleep disturbed many times to attend National Security Council meetings,” he said. “I will make sure that your morning sleep won’t be disturbed.”
“Now I can sleep in peace,” Mr Moon replied.
Mr Kim also acknowledged that the North’s infrastructure lagged behind that of the South.
“I’m worried that our transport situation is bad so it may discomfort you, it may be embarrassing [for me] if you visit North Korea after living in the South’s environment,” he said.
After separating for lunch, the two leaders took part in a tree-planting ceremony using soil and water from both countries.
They later attended a banquet where Mr Kim was expected to be served the Swiss potato dish rösti – a nod to his time studying in Switzerland – along with the North’s signature dish of cold noodles, and a North Korean liquor.
Mr Kim was accompanied for the symbolic discussions by nine officials, including his powerful sister, Kim Yo-jong.
So far there has been no mention of the summit’s outcome on North Korean TV.
How did we get here?
Few had predicted a development like this, as North Korea continued its nuclear and missile tests and stepped up its rhetoric through 2016 and 2017.
The rapprochement began in January when Mr Kim suggested he was “open to dialogue” with South Korea.
The following month the two countries marched under one flag at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, held in the South.
Mr Kim announced last week that he was suspending nuclear tests.
Chinese researchers have indicated that North Korea’s nuclear test site may be unusable after a rock collapse.
SOURCE – BBC
Korea talks: The intricate theatrics of a historic meeting
The historic summit between South and North Korea has been a carefully staged affair of intricate theatrics.
There is symbolism in almost every aspect of the meeting, from food to flowers and from table diameter to the planting of a pine tree.
It is all designed to “signify the arrival of peace on the Korean Peninsula and the era of co-operation and prosperity,” according to the South Korean committee in charge of preparing the summit.
The venue
The meeting takes place in the Panmunjom village in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). This in itself is already quite symbolic.
For the two previous summits, it has been the South’s political leader who travelled to Pyongyang, the North’s capital.
This time, the two sides’ leaders meet at the military demarcation line and then walked to the Peace House for the actual talks.
The house is south of the border and it’s been the first time a North Korean leader has ever crossed that line.
An honour guard of South Korean soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb – rather than South Korean military uniform – lined the path of the two leaders.
The flowers
For decoration, their meeting room features flowers in traditional white porcelain vases.
But not just any flowers: peonies to symbolise greetings, daisies to stand for peace, and wild flowers picked in the DMZ.
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The table
The two leaders sat down at an oval table exactly 2,018mm wide, a diameter to reference the year the summit takes place.
The chairs were also custom-made for the summit and they include a little dig at Japan.
Featuring a map of the whole Korean peninsula they also show the disputed Dokdo islands, controlled by Seoul but also claimed by Tokyo. Both Koreas are united in their dislike of Japan.
The decor
The symbolism in the room extends beyond the table and chairs.
The room is designed to feel like a traditional Korean Hanok house – with panelled windows made of paper.
The blue carpet is meant to represent the mountains and streams across the Korean peninsular.
And the large landscape painting on the wall is of Mt Kumgang, in North Korea. A South Korean government spokesperson said it was a mountain that many Koreans aspired to visit.
“Mt Kumgang is a symbol of reconciliation and co-operation between the South and the North.”
The pine tree
The afternoon featured a commemorative tree planting. The pine tree dates back to 1953, AFP reports, the year the Korean War armistice was signed.
Both leaders picked up shovels to ceremoniously plant the tree in soil brought from mountains in both the North and South. It was then watered by water from rivers in each of their halves of the peninsula.
There’s a plaque by it saying: “Planting peace and prosperity.”
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The food
The dinner served to both delegations this evening will again be loaded with symbolism; every bite carries significant weight.
Produce and recipes will be from North and South Korea, from the two leaders’ hometowns, and even sourced from the DMZ.
Image copyright Getty Images There will, for instance, be Pyongyang Naengmyun, famous cold noodles from the North, Swiss potato rosti because Kim Jong-un spent his youth in Switzerland, seafood from Moon Jae-un’s hometown and the traditional bibimbab rice dish, with vegetables grown in the DMZ.
One of the desserts will again feature a map of the two Koreas – again with the disputed islands. The symbolism did not go unnoticed in Tokyo.
Japan’s foreign ministry issued a “strong protest” over of the controversial mango mousse.