The possible end of the war and denuclearization are signs of reconciliation

For the government of South Korea, Friday's meeting marks a historic milestone, as it is the first time that a South Korean leader crosses the border to the north. Besides the attitude of the North Korean leader breaks the tension that has marked the relationship during the last sixty years. In addition, from the Blue House, South Korean presidential residence, it has been announced on Sunday, April 29 that the North will dismantle its main nuclear test site next month and that its leader, Kim Jong Un, is ready to meet with the Japanese prime minister , Shinzo Abe. Kim said he would invite security experts and international journalists to the north to observe the closure of the site and demonstrate his true interest in the peace of the peninsula.

Leer en español: Corea del Sur y Corea del Norte: ¿se acercan a una verdadera paz?

Although it is not the first summit held between the two countries since the 1953 war, it is the first time that the two nations have discussed in depth the issue of peace and denuclearization. At 9:30 a.m., local time Kim Jong UN, greet the South Korean president, each in his control zone. After a greeting in which words were whispered and where the attitude was one of rejoicing, Kim crossed the border to the South, then invited Moon to go to the other side.

Throughout the day, there were military tributes, rapprochements between the parties, where the main issue was to leave aside the technicality of the war that is still alive. The message proposed by North Korea is locked in a new era of peace and cooperation towards the future. Now everything depends on the meeting with US President Donald Trump, so that 2018 is historic.

Skepticism in the South

A poll conducted on Friday, the day North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, showed that 64.7 percent believe the North will be denuclearized and will keep the peace. Before the summit, only 14.7 percent of respondents said yes, the Realmeter research agency said Monday.

Many South Koreans were surprised by the live television footage during the summit of Kim smiling and joking. Kim Jong Un's self-critical and witty side never admitted, admitting that his country's train system was inferior and promising that he would no longer wake Moon with morning missile launches.

However, Friday's final statement leaves many unanswered questions for the inhabitants of the south, particularly what "denuclearization" means or how it will be achieved. Despite the protests against the summit, the inhabitants of the south see a new era in relations with their neighbors, where cooperation is also the basis of the rapprochement.

Peace Signs

The Blue House, presidential residence of the South, also revealed a symbolic step of Kim's goodwill: North Korea would advance its clock half an hour to return to the same time zone as Seoul and Tokyo.

On Friday, Kim and Moon declared that they would take steps to formally end the Korean War of 1953, which ended with only one truce, and work for the "denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula.

Latin American Post | Carlos Eduardo Gómez Avella

Copy edited by Susana Cicchetto