Korean leaders meet in Pyongyang
Denuclearization talks top agenda
PYONGYANG, North Korea — South Korean President Moon Jae-in began his third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday with possibly his hardest mission to date — brokering some kind of compromise to keep North Korea’s talks with Washington from imploding and pushing ahead with his own plans to expand economic cooperation and bring a stable peace to the Korean Peninsula.
Mr. Kim gave the South Korean president an exceedingly warm welcome, meeting him and his wife at Pyongyang’s airport — itself a very unusual gesture — then riding into town with Mr. Moon in an open limousine through streets lined with crowds of North Koreans, who cheered and waved the flag of their country and a blue-and-white flag that symbolizes Korean unity.
The made-for-television welcome is par for the course for Mr. Moon’s summits with Mr. Kim.
Hours after his arrival, Mr. Moon began an official summit with Mr. Kim at the ruling Workers’ Party headquarters. The two were joined by two of their top deputies — spy chief Suh Hoon and presidential security director Chung Euiyong for Mr. Moon, and Mr. Kim’s powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, and senior Workers’ Party official Kim Yong Chol for the North Korean leader, according to Mr. Moon’s office.
At the start of their meeting, Mr. Kim thanked Mr. Moon for brokering a June summit with President Donald Trump.
“It’s not too much to say that it’s Moon’s efforts that arranged a historic North Korea-U.S. summit. Because of that, the regional political situation has been stabilized and more progress on North Korea-U.S. ties is expected,” Mr. Kim said, according to South Korean media pool reports and Mr. Moon’s office.
Mr. Moon responded by expressing his own thanks to Mr. Kim for making a “bold decision” in a New Year’s speech to open a new era of detente and send a delegation to the South Korean Winter Olympics in February.
Even though tens of thousands of people had witnessed Mr. Moon’s drive into the city with their leader, the arrival was not broadcast or even mentioned on the evening and night news on North Korea’s central television network. The North often holds off reporting stories until it has had time to review and edit the video for maximum propaganda impact.
The results of the talks weren’t immediately available. Seoul officials earlier said they would focus on how to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, decrease military tensions along their border and improve overall ties. The North’s media said the talks would reaffirm their commitment to Korean peace, unity and prosperity.
During a conversation at the Paekhwawon guest house where Mr. Moon was to stay, Mr. Kim said North Koreans hope diplomacy will yield positive results. “I think it was our people’s wish that we come up with good results as fast as we can,” Mr. Kim said, according to the media pool reports.
Mr. Moon responded that “Our hearts are fluttering, but at the same we have heavy hearts,” and added, “We have built trust and friendship between us, so I think all will be well.”
The two are to meet again on Wednesday.
One of Mr. Moon’s objectives — and one that also interests Mr. Kim — was clear from the people he took with him. Traveling on Mr. Moon’s government jet were Samsung scion Lee Jae-yong and other business leaders, underscoring Mr. Moon’s hopes to expand cross-border business projects. Currently, however, all major joint projects between the Koreas are stalled because of U.S.-led sanctions.
But the nuclear issue was sure to cast a shadow over negotiations on joint projects.