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Global Geopolitical Series: Breakthrough expected as Inter-Korean summit begins in Pyongyang

Great progress is expected as South Korean President Moon Jae in arrived in Pyongyang with his some 110 delegates in Pyongyang and was surprisingly greeted by North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un, who shared a hug with his South Korean counterpart. 90 of those delegates including business leaders, politicians, Press arrived a day before. President Moon’s wife Kim-Jung-sook was greeted by her counterpart Ri Sol-Ju. Though Mr. Moon is the third South Korean President to have visited the North Korean capital, a great progress is expected in contrast to the previous summits.

The leaders' first official meeting was set to begin at 3:30 pm local time. The meeting will be followed by a welcome dinner to be hosted by Kim. The two leaders will hold talks again on Wednesday before Moon attends a farewell dinner, hosted by Kim.

This is the first meeting since May when the two leaders met inside the demilitarized zone that divides the two Koreas. Before his arrival for this three-day summit, Mr. Moon has confirmed that he would seek to mediate as a breakthrough in the denuclearization talks between North Korea and the United States. President Moon said, “One (objective) is to continue developing inter-Korean relations, and the other is to promote North Korea-U.S. dialogue aimed at denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula……. North Korea trip would have a great meaning if it could lead to the resumption of North Korea-U.S. dialogue".

The denuclearization talks stalled after U.S. President Donald Trump called off a scheduled North Korea trip by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, citing what he called a lack of progress in the denuclearization process. However, Kim reaffirmed his commitment to denuclearize while meeting with Moon's special envoy and top security adviser Chung Eui-Yong in Pyongyang earlier this month. The North Korean leader even reportedly expressed hope to complete denuclearization before Trump's first four-year presidency ends in January 2021. Leader Kim also sent a letter to President Trump calling him to consider a second U.S.-North Korea summit. The White House had described the letter as warm and very positive.

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