April’s meeting between North & South Korea

Gage Skidmore [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

In April, Kim Jong-Un, leader of North Korea, met the President of South Korea, Mr. Moon Jae-in, in what is considered the first meeting since the end of the 1950-1953 Korean war.

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​Many dubbed this meeting a historical moment. After all, Kim Jong-Un became the first leader of North Korea to put his feet on South Korea since the end of the Korean war in 1953. The summit was held in the demilitarized zone between the two countries, the 27th April 2018.

It was Kim Jong-Un who walked over the line dividing both countries, to then shake hands with Mr. Moon. Afterwards, both leaders held a few discussions between each other, both alone and with a delegation of officials. The talks concerned vague ideas of future cooperation between both countries, as well as denuclearization of North Korea, and the upcoming North Korea-US summit, to be held the 12th of June, in a few days.

Overall, this summit didn’t really have a real purpose, and was more of a show-off between both countries. Taking in account the situation, and how until a few months earlier the US and North Korea were rising the tension with threats, every step towards a stronger relationship between both countries is a step in the right direction. Sure, the meeting had no real purpose, but it will still be remembered as a historic moment, which, if things turn out well the 12th June, could be the beginning of change in the peninsula.

What can also be said is that it is hard to say whether Mr. Trump had any real influence in creating this event. Some want to call it the “Trump effect”, others deny this is due to his unorthodox ways of handling things. Others point out that North Korea is close to its limits due to the international sanctions, which could be what is pushing Mr. Kim Jong-Un to try and strike a deal to reduce international pressure. It is hard to tell what the truth is and what isn’t. What we can hope for, though, is that the situation keeps improving.