History in the Blockchain: Korean Summit
Pictured: Kim Jong-un exchanging greetings with South Korea’s president, Moon Jae-in. From the Guardian.
2 hours ago, the Supreme Leader of North Korea Kim Jong-un crossed the DMZ that has separated North and South Korea since the end of the Korean War, and became the first North Korean leader to set foot on South Korean soil. At Kim’s suggestion, the leaders crossed over briefly into North Korean territory in another symbolic gesture before heading indoors for discussions.
Kim had earlier halted North Korea's nuclear testing program as an apparent gesture of goodwill. The summit is part of an apparent gradual turnaround in North Korea's commitment to its nuclear programme under the Juche policy of self-reliance.
Just last summer, North Korea had quickly ramped up tensions in the region and with the US through repeated tests of long-range ballistic missiles with the potential of striking the US.
Will the Korean summit pave the way for a North Korean commitment to denuclearisation before the upcoming North Korea-US summit in May?
Hopefully, we will see peace and an official end to the Korean war quickly.
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Wow! I had goosebumps seeing them step on each other's territories. Never imagined this would ever happen. Hopefully, this would lead to peace and unity there.
Yes, I never imagined this would happen so close to the events of last summer as well. Hopefully, it's not just an elaborate scheme to buy time or something. Nothing is confirmed yet.
From the Panmujeon declaration released at the end of the summit:
"The two leaders solemnly declared before the 80 million Korean people and the whole world that there will be no more war on the Korean Peninsula and thus a new era of peace has begun."
...
"South and North Korea confirmed the common goal of realising, through complete denuclearisation, a nuclear-free Korean peninsula."