‘Dream come true’: Moon treks to peak with Kim Jongun
SEOUL: South Korean President Moon Jaein cleared a top item off his bucket list yesterday: Climbing Mt Paektu in North Korea with its leader Kim Jongun.
After the two leaders pledged new steps aimed at salvaging nuclear talks, South Korea made a surprise announcement that Moon and Kim would use the final day of their threeday summit to go up the symbolic mountain together.
Moon is known for his love of mountain climbing and has trekked in the Himalayas at least twice. The president had long said he would love to one day visit Mt Paektu, which is also sometimes spelled Baekdu.
As the highest mountain on the Korean peninsula at about 2750m (9000ft) above sea level, Mt Paektu is the mythical origin of the Korean people, featuring in South Korea’s national anthem and various North Korean propaganda.
Although Mt Paektu straddles the North KoreaChina border and can be reached from China, where it is known as Changbai Mountain, Moon had never visited.
An active volcano, Mt Paektu is dotted with secret camps and historical sites from Korea’s guerrilla war against the occupying Japanese in the 1940s. A funicular railway takes tourists up the mountain, which also holds a huge crater lake.
‘‘I have a dream that I have not been able to fulfil for a long time, which is trekking Mt Paektu and the Kaema Plateau,’’ Moon said during a banquet after his first summit with Kim in April, which took place at the demilitarised zone separating the two neighbours.
‘‘I believe Chairman Kim will make that dream come true for sure.’’
North Korea says Kim’s grandfather and father were born at Mt Paektu. — Reuters