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How will the two leaders met at the inter-Korean summit?

A general schedule has been set for the historic summit on Apr. 27 between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. According to details announced by Blue House press center director Kwon Hyuk-ki following a third round of working-level talks on protocol, security, and press coverage on Apr. 23, Pyongyang is set to open the North Korea side of Panmunjeom up to South Korean press coverage for the first time since Korea’s division. The two leaders’ meeting as they attempt to overcome 70 years of division will be broadcast live around the globe. The world’s eyes and ears will also be focused on whether Kim’s wife Ri Sol-ju visits the South and what kind of official welcoming ceremony is staged.

North Korea’s decision to open its section of Panmunjeom to the South Korean press for the first time since Korea’s division is highly significant. With the world’s attention focused on the inter-Korean summit and its discussions on the peninsula’s denuclearization and a permanent peace regime, the decision was made to allow live coverage from the moment Kim arrives by vehicle on the North Korean side of Panmunjeom, the Blue House explained.

“We had been preparing for reporters to begin live coverage on the South Korean side across the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), but there was discussion during the inter-Korean working-level talks about how it might possible to broadcast more vivid images of everything from the first meeting to the official welcoming ceremony around the world if photojournalists were able to begin filming on the Northern side,” a Blue House senior official said.

Moon’s approach to greeting Kim is poised to provide a key image kicking off the historic day. Some within the Blue House have predicted that with North Korea’s leader visiting the South for the first time since Korea’s division, Moon will answer with his own show of “good faith.” That lends weight to speculation that the South Korean President may cross over to the North Korean side of the MDL within Panmunjeom to greet Kim before heading back to the South Korean side. The image of the two leaders stepping together over the Panmunjeom line – for decades a symbol of division – may prove effective in showing them following through on the agreement between Seoul and Pyongyang a decade earlier to transform the “line” of division into a “plane” of peace and reconciliation.

Another focus of attention is the official welcoming ceremony format. Observers in and around the Blue House suggested that with past presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun receiving North Korean honor guard reviews during their visits, some equivalent welcome should also be in order for Moon. For this reason, there is speculation that an informal honor guard review may be staged. Afterwards, the two leaders are scheduled to travel to the Peace House meeting venue and sign the visitors’ book before entering the meeting room and delivering their introductory remarks in turn. Live coverage is to be suspended once the summit begins.

The view looking south from the North Korean side of the Panmunjeom Joint Security Area. Directly in front are the meeting rooms for the Neutral Nations Supervisory Board and the Military Armistice Commission. The Freedom House building figures prominently in the center of the photo

The question of whether Kim’s wife Ri Sol-ju will be accompanying him appears likely to be answered only when the North Korean leader steps out of his vehicle at Panmunjeom. Facing repeated questions from reporters, a Blue House spokesperson insisted he could “not confirm.” But sources familiar with deliberations inside the Blue House said there was a strong likelihood Ri would be attending a welcome dinner to take place after the summit. Ruling party sources specifically reported that Moon’s wife Kim Jung-sook would wait at the dinner site to hand a bouquet of flowers to Ri when she arrives.

While the two leaders are both scheduled to attend the dinner presided over Moon, separate lunch schedules will reportedly be organized for them during the summit

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“Since there’s a dinner scheduled in the evening, there is no need to have lunch together as well,” a Blue House senior official said. The leaders must also have times during the summit for breaks and separate meetings.

Whereas the first and second inter-Korean summits in 2000 and 2007 had relatively long three-day schedules, the upcoming summit will need to be finished within a single day, raising the possibility that an agreement may be reached late at night.

In reporting the results of the working-level talks on Apr. 23, Kwon Hyuk-ki said that Presidential Chief of Staff and inter-Korean summit preparation committee chairman Im Jong-seok was “scheduled to give a final briefing on the two leaders’ schedule the day before the summit on Apr. 26.” Analysts suggests this was intended a gesture of consideration for the North Korea’s culture and acute sensitivity to issues concerning Kim’s schedule and the security of his activities.

By Kim Bo-hyeop, staff reporter

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