Koreas take a step towards peace
LEADERS PLEDGE DENUCLEARISATION, BUT AVOID SPECIFICS; TRUMP DECLARES IN TWEET: ‘KOREAN WAR TO END’
The leaders of North and South Korea agreed yesterday to work to remove all nuclear weapons from the Korean Peninsula and, within the year, pursue talks with the US to declare an official end to the Korean War, which ravaged the peninsula from 1950 to 1953.
At a historic summit, the leaders vowed to negotiate a peace treaty to replace a truce that has kept an uneasy peace on the divided Korean Peninsula.
“South and North Korea confirmed the common goal of realising, through complete denuclearisation, a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula,” read a statement signed by North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un and South’s president Moon Jae-in after their meeting in Panmunjom. “I came here to put an end to the history of confrontation,” Kim was quoted as saying.
After the summit, US President Donald Trump tweeted “KOREAN WAR TO END”.
Separately, meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House, Trump said two countries were under consideration for a meeting between him and Kim and he vowed it “should be quite something.”
“We will, I think, come up with a solution and if we don’t we leave the room with great respect and we just keep it going.”
The leaders of North and South Korea embraced yesterday after pledging to work for the “complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula”, on a day of smiles and handshakes at the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade.
The two Koreas announced they would work with the United States and China this year to declare an official end to the 1950s Korean War and seek an agreement on “permanent” and “solid” peace.
The declaration included promises to pursue phased arms reduction, cease hostile acts, transform their fortified border into a peace zone and seek multilateral talks with other countries including the United States.
“The two leaders declare before our people of 80 million and the entire world there will be no more war on the Korean peninsula and a new age of peace has begun.”
South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed to visit the North Korean capital of Pyongyang this year, they said.
Joking and walking
Earlier, North Korea’s Kim Jong-un became the first North Korean leader since the 1950-53 Korean War to set foot in South Korea after shaking hands with his counterpart over a concrete curb marking the border in the heavily fortified demilitarised zone.
Scenes of Moon and Kim joking and walking together marked a striking contrast to last year’s barrage of North Korean missile tests and its largest ever nuclear test that led to sweeping international sanctions and fears of war.
Their meeting comes weeks before Kim is due to meet US President Donald Trump in what would be the first ever meeting between sitting leaders of the two countries.
Trump welcomed the Korean talks. “After a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place. Good things are happening, but only time will tell!” he said on Twitter.
He later added: “KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!” China, North Korea’s main ally, welcomed the leaders’ statement and said it was willing to keep playing a proactive role in promoting political solutions. China is wary of being sidelined by a thaw between the two Koreas and by the upcoming summit between Trump and Kim.
Russia said it was ready to facilitate cooperation between North and South Korea, including in the fields of railway transport and energy.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also welcomed the summit and said he expected North Korea to take concrete steps to carry out its promises.
Global markets lifted
Global markets were lifted by hopes the summit would pave the way for the end of conflict on the Korean peninsula. Shares in Seoul briefly rose more than 1 per cent to a onemonth high and Japan’s Nikkei share average also gained.
As part of efforts to reduce tension, the two sides agreed to open a liaison office, stop propaganda broadcasts and leaflet drops along the border and allow Korean families divided by the border to meet.
Days before the summit, Kim said North Korea would suspend nuclear and long-range missile tests and dismantle its only known nuclear test site.
Good things are happening, but only time will tell! KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!”
Donald Trump | Us President
We applaud the Korean leaders’ historic step and appreciate their political decisions and courage. We hope and look forward to them opening a new journey of longterm stability.”
Hua Chunying | Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman
We strongly hope that North Korea will take concrete action through this meeting and a summit between the US and North Korea. We will keep watching North Korea’s future movements.”
Shinzo Abe | Japanese Prime Minister
This is very positive news. Today we see that this direct dialogue has taken place [and] it has certain prospects. The will to seek agreement can be seen on both sides.”
Dmitry Peskov | Russian President Putin’s spokesman