South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump (R) deliver a joint statement from the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., June 30, 2017. Credit: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Reuters: After summit, South Korea plots 'roadmap' for Trump's meeting with Kim Jong Un
SEOUL (Reuters) - At their first summit in more than a decade on Friday, the leaders of North and South Korea held hands, planted a tree, and signed a pledge to pursue peace on the peninsula.
The heavy symbolism of the night was the culmination of more than three months of efforts by both Koreas to change the political tone after last year’s missile tests and military threats.
What that change of tone means for the prospect of long-term peace on the peninsula is still an open question. Analysts say South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will have to nurture the reduced tensions into concrete moves.
Skeptics view Kim’s overtures as a duplicitous attempt to buy time, while others argue any real peace deal requires talking to the North Koreans.
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WNU Editor: I am sure they are going to have more than one talk in the coming weeks .... Trump says had a 'long and very good talk' with South Korean president (Reuters). My gut tells me that the Trump-Kim summit will be a success, and that most (if not all) of the details that need to be discussed will be agreed upon before they meet ... if they have not been agreed upon already. And what do I expect .... a general commitment to denuclearize at a future date, and an agreement to formally end the state of war that has existed between the two sides since 1953. The details will then be worked out by the diplomats, which is probably explains why this happened this week .... Donald Trump to send incoming ambassador to Australia Harry Harris to South Korea instead (ABC News Online).