By Daniel Hordon
The North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, has met today with the South Korean President, Moon Jae-In, for historic talks between the 2 countries who have hailed to bring about a “new era of peace”.
The North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, has met today with the South Korean President, Moon Jae-In, for historic talks between the 2 countries who have hailed to bring about a “new era of peace”. The 2 met in the demilitarised zone, at the same place as a truce was signed at the end of the Korean War 65 years ago. The discussions began with the 2 leaders unprecedentedly asking the other into the their country, with Kim Jong Un becoming the first North Korean leader to enter South Korea since the end of the war in 1953.
An historic agreement has been signed between the two leaders and their countries to “peace, prosperity and unification of Korean peninsula”. The Panmunjom declaration (named after the village it was agreed in) is designed to bring a formal end to tensions between the Koreas with a vital clause obliging the peninsula to “complete denuclearisation”:
“South and North Korea confirmed the common goal of realising, through complete denuclearisation, a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. South and North Korea shared the view that the measures being initiated by North Korea are very meaningful and crucial for the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and agreed to carry out their respective roles and responsibilities in this regard. South and North Korea agreed to actively seek the support and cooperation of the international community for the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.”
Mr Kim is thought to have felt increasing pressure to surrender his nuclear deterrent due to tough international sanctions and what the state sees as a hostile US. Over recent years tensions in the region had been escalating due to frequent tests of missiles and nuclear warheads by the deranged state.
Speaking to the international press for the first time today at a press conference, Kim Jong Un said:
“ I can see that South and North Koreans are the same people, they cannot be separated. We are compatriots... We should not be confronting each other, we are the same people and should live in unity. I hope we will be able to live very peacefully in the future, as soon as possible.” and said that he hoped Korean people would be able to move freely in the future. The comments are the closest Korea has reached to the possibility of unification since the Korean War.
The declaration also expressed wishes for the countries to partake in 4-way talks with the US and China regarding future diplomacy and the process of denuclearisation.
US President, Donald Trump - who is expected to meet with Kim Jong Un in the coming weeks despite previously branding Mr Kim under the name of “little rocket man” - has welcomed the possibility of denuclearisation and increasing intervention, tweeting:
The US President also thanked China and its President Xi Jinping for their work already on the peninsula, saying that “without him it would have been a much longer, tougher, process!”. Other world leaders have also welcomed the news, with a Kremlin spokesperson for Vladimir Putin branding it “very positive news”. However, the Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, has warned against being “over-optimistic at this point”.
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