Kim Jong Un is now the first North Korean leader to have set foot in the South since a 1953 armistice halted three devastating years of war between the two Koreas.
With all eyes glued on the highly anticipated inter-Korea summit, Kim and President Moon Jae-in met as scheduled on Friday at the Peace House in Panmunjom, a truce village located in the demilitarised zone (DMZ) of the peninsula.
The two leaders greeted each other in what appeared to be a masterful but sincere display of warm diplomacy, with handshakes, hugs and a long, private conversation at the border. Both also took turns stepping into each other’s country.
The North and South have released a formal declaration of peace, which includes removing all nuclear weapons and pursuing talks with the United States to officially end the Korean War.
But with all the conciliatory bravado, how is the rest of the international community responding? After decades of conflict and tension, does the possibility of unification now seem more likely? And if you’re of Korean descent, what has this historic day of talks meant for you? Call us at 866-893-5722.
Guests:
Paul Adams, diplomatic correspondent for the BBC who has been following the story; he tweets
Sung-Yoon Lee, an expert on the Koreas and professor in Korean Studies at Tufts University