South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who suggested on Monday that Donald Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize…
…has convinced North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to hold his historic meeting with US President Donald Trump at the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas – a region Bill Clinton called the “scariest place on earth” in 1993, CNN reports.
Moon and Kim met last Friday at the same location in Panmunjom, as the historically significant event led to an agreement to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and formally end the Korean War.
There is a “strong possibility” the summit will be held at the site, with some events possibly scheduled on the northern side of the military demarcation line separating the two countries, according to an official with deep knowledge of North Korea’s thinking on the matter. –CNN
The summit, thought to be held in “in late may,” will also mark a historically significant moment in US history – as the agreement between the two Koreas marks the first sitting US President to meet with a North Korean Leader, ending decades of failed US foreign policy as the multi-generational regime pursued its nuclear ambitions.
The idea to meet at the DMZ was on Trump’s mind all weekend – as he raised the possibility in a Sunday phone call with Moon, a senior US official and another person familiar with the conversation told CNN.
“There’s something I like about it, because you’re there, if things work out, there’s a great celebration to be had on the site, not in a third party country,” said President Trump to reporters on Monday.
.@POTUS on the possibility of holding the North Korea summit at the DMZ: “There is something that I like about it because you’re there. You’re actually there. Where if things work out, there’s a great celebration to be had.” pic.twitter.com/XMZ44kheXa
— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) April 30, 2018
On Friday Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in agreed to finally end a seven-decade war, signing a declaration to pursue the “complete denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula, although they did not announce any concrete steps to dismantle the North’s nuclear programs..
The two leaders embraced after signing the deal during a historic meeting on their shared border, the first time a North Korean leader has set foot on the southern side. They announced plans to formally declare a resolution to the war and replace 1953 armistice that ended open hostilities into a peace treaty by year’s end.
“We solemnly declare to our 80m Koreans and the world that there will no more war on the Korean peninsula and a new era of peace has begun,” North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean president Moon Jae-in said in a joint statement. “It is our urgent historic assignment to put an end to this current abnormal state of ceasefire and establish a peace regime.”
#BREAKING: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un makes history with a brief walk into South Korea for an ice-breaking #KoreaSummit pic.twitter.com/hsa4IM7O2v
— Jeffs (@jeffs_araujo35) April 27, 2018
“We have agreed to share a firm determination to open a new era in which all Korean people enjoy prosperity and happiness on a peaceful land without wars,” Kim said, in his first remarks in front of the global press since taking power in 2011.
No Wall, No War, No hate
Today, We are all KOREANS #interkoreansummit #남북정상회담 #KoreaSummit pic.twitter.com/iziTIIEGmW— JaeKwon Son 손재권 (@gjack) April 27, 2018
The two sides “confirmed the common goal of realizing, through complete denuclearization, a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.”
Trump loved the images from the inter-Korean summit and the fact the entire meeting was televised, those sources said. –CNN
CNN reports that some in the Trump administration have concerns, however, that a meeting at the DMZ would appear conciliatory towards Kim, and are arguing towards Singapore as an alternate location for the summit.
The wealthy and glamorous city-state sits on the end of the Malay Peninsula and has often been seen as a gateway between Asia and the West.
A close ally to the United States during the Cold War and currently host to a US military presence, Singapore also has a diplomatic relationship with North Korea. It is one of only 47 countries to feature a North Korean embassy. –CNN
That said, Kim Jong Un is said to be reluctant to travel long distances by plane, due in part to security concerns, so Singapore may be off the table.
A third location the leaders could meet is the previously suggested is the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar – leveraging diplomatic ties between both Pyongyang and Washington and serving as neutral ground for the summit. It would also allow Kim to travel to the meeting using his father’s armored train.
“Mongolia is very eager to host this summit, they have come out and said they will host it … They want to be the Switzerland of Asia, they want to be seen as a partner that can have good ties with everybody,” said Jenna Gibson, director of communications at the Korea Economic Institute.
On Monday, South Korean leader Moon Jae-in said U.S. President Donald Trump deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the standoff with North Korea over its nuclear weapons program, a South Korean official said on Monday.
Just a few short hours after the historic first crossing south of the border by Kim to meet Moon pledging to end hostilities between the two countries and work towards the “complete denuclearization” of the Korean peninsula, Reuters reports that Moon told a meeting of senior secretaries, according to a presidential Blue House official who briefed media:
“President Trump should win the Nobel Peace Prize. What we need is only peace.”
This follows Moon’s comments in January that Trump “deserves big credit for bringing about the inter-Korean talks. It could be a resulting work of the U.S.-led sanctions and pressure.”
Perhaps the most important question of all; will Dennis Rodman be at the signing?
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