South Korean trust in North jumps after feel good summit
Seoul: South Korean trust in North Korea has surged since last week’s feel- good summit at which their leaders declared an end to hostilities and to work towards denuclearisation of the peninsula. A survey taken on Friday, the day North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met South Korean President Moon Jae- in, showed 64.7 percent believe the North will denuclearise and keep peace. Before the summit, only 14.7 percent of those polled said they did, research agency Realmeter said on Monday. Many South Koreans were struck by the live TV images during the summit of a smiling and joking Kim. Never before had they seen a self- deprecating and witty side to him, admitting that his country’s train system was inferior and promising he wouldn’t wake up Moon any more with early morning missile launches. Mr Kim seemed markedly different from former North Korean leaders - his father Kim Jong Il and grandfather Kim Il Sung, people on the street in Seoul said on Monday. “Denuclearising is definitely possible,” said 41- year- old Mr Kim Jin- han. The North Korean leader “talked about his country’s weaknesses, such as the infrastructure. He was very open about that. This is very different from the previous leaders. So I think he is ready to give up nuclear weapons.” Mr Kim’s comments about bringing Pyongyang- style cold noodles to summit banquet clearly captivated many in the South, prompting some to add his face to the photo of a popular app for a food delivery service, holding a bowl of noodles under his arm. South Korea’s stock market got a boost on Monday on hopes for joint economic projects. One social media post getting attention said that with a successful summit, South Korea should brace for an onslaught of North Korean beer as the first wave of “cultural aggression”. A parody showed a South Korean news announcer reporting that Mr Kim complaining about watery South Korean beer compared to Taedonggang Beer featured in the background. A euphoric mood also enveloped the presidential Blue House on Monday as Mr Moon was greeted by cheers and a standing ovation by scores of aides and staff. “I am confident a new era of peace will unfold on the Korean peninsula,” Mr Moon told his aides, asking them to quickly follow up on the agreements made in Friday’s declaration. The two sides are technically still at war since their 195053 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty. Mr Moon’s approval rating after the summit rose to 70 percent, Realmeter said, its highest since mid- January. Mr Moon also told aides that U. S. President Donald Trump deserved the Nobel Peace Prize for helping to end the standoff with North Korea over its nuclear weapons programme, a South Korean official said. “President Trump should win the Nobel Peace Prize. What we need is only peace,” Mr Moon told aides, according to a Blue House official who briefed the press. In January, Mr Moon had said Trump “deserves big credit” for bringing about the inter-Korean talks, saying it may have come from “U. S.- led sanctions and pressure.” Friday’s final declaration, however, leaves many questions unanswered, particularly what “denuclearisation” means. Much hinges on Mr Kim’s summit with Mr Trump, that could happen in the next three to four weeks.