Press. voanews.com.
North Korean
leader Kim Jong Un met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in April 27 in the
Demilitarized Zone at Panmunjom. Their discussions centered around the
denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and a peace settlement.
Key facts:
- This was the
first inter-Korean summit in 11 years
- It marked the
first visit of a North Korean leader to the South since the Korean War
The Trump
administration appears to be satisfied with the results of the meeting,
believing it paved the way for the coming U.S.-North Korea summit and leaving
room for U.S. President Donald Trump to pursue the specific measures he wants.
Four takeaways from
the summit:
1. Inter-Korean
ties:
It appeared that
inter-Korean reconciliation was not aimed at resuming large-scale economic
projects between the two sides, but rather, to focus on reducing military
tensions, addressing humanitarian needs in the North, and people-to-people
exchanges. This shows that Seoul, at least for now, is trying to reconcile with
Pyongyang without undermining international sanctions against the North.
Before the
summit, Moon repeatedly said the resolution of the nuclear issue would be key
to meaningful progress in Seoul's relations with Pyongyang. Seoul, however, is
likely to embark on ambitious economic projects with Pyongyang once the nuclear
issue is resolved and sanctions are lifted.
2. Nuclear issue
The North vowed
to work toward "complete denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula.
Critics in Washington say that commitment lacks specifics. Some point out that
the North's interpretation of the peninsula's denuclearization might be
different from that of Washington, saying Pyongyang often demanded the United
States withdraw its forces from South Korea and remove its nuclear umbrella
from the South in return for the North giving up its nuclear weapons.
Moon's
supporters in Seoul maintain that persuading Kim to put his verbal commitment
to denuclearization into writing was the goal of the summit, and the goal was
achieved. They argued that specific measures of denuclearization need to be
worked out between Trump and Kim at the planned summit.
3. Potential
Washington-Seoul conflicts:
Whether Moon
intended it or not, the outcome of the inter-Korean summit could put a strain
on relations between Washington and Seoul. For example, Moon and Kim agreed to
"completely cease all hostile acts against each other in every
domain," which could give Pyongyang an excuse to demand the suspension of
joint military drills between the U.S. and South Korea. Some Washington experts
found the agreement too vague and warned that it could result in sweeping
consequences.
The inter-Korean
agreement also could have some negative implications for the overall future of
the U.S.-ROK alliance. For many decades, deterrence against threats from North
Korea through combined forces of the U.S. and South Korea has been the
cornerstone of the alliance. As the two Koreas move closer to eachother and
tension eases, the value of the U.S.-ROK alliance will begin to decrease. Some
in Washington remain skeptical Kim will denuclearize, believing his motivation
for the peace offensive is to drive a wedge between Washington and Seoul.
4. Kim Jong Un's
strategy:
Many experts
wonder what might have motivated Kim to engage in the peace offensive. There
are mainly two theories:
- Kim's move is
a show of confidence in his position on the nuclear issue. In November 2017, he
declared the completion of the country's nuclear force after the successful
launch of an ICBM. Experts who believe this theory are highly skeptical of
Kim's pledge to denuclearize.
- Kim has come
to grips with the reality that he must denuclearize to survive as his regime is
feeling pain from international pressure. Some Washington experts questioned
when and how Kim would deliver his peace offensive toward the world to his own
citizens. During his meeting with Moon, Pyongyang launched a massive media
campaign to get its version of the story out. North Korea's official newspaper
Rodong Sinmun ran a front-page story on the summit headlined, "a historic
meeting that opened a new era of national reconciliation, unity, peace, and
prosperity."
What next?
Kim and Moon said
they would pursue talks with the U.S. and China to formally end the Korean War,
which ended in 1953 with a truce but not total peace.