South Korean President Moon Jae-In Holds Surprise Meeting With Kim Jong-Un As Uncertainty Of US Summit Looms

Amid uncertainty over ties between North Korea and the United states, South Korean President Moon Jae-in today (26 May) held a second, surprise meeting for two hours with his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-un, reports The Wall Street Journal. Members of the South Korean Presidential Office said that the two had met on the north of the Korean demilitarised zone (DMZ) to discuss how to go forward with the summit between Kim and United States President Donald Trump.

On 24 May, Trump had called off the summit after statement from North Korea called Vice President Mike Pence a political dummy. In his letter to Kim, Trump had blamed the anger and hostility in the statement as the reason for withdrawal.

However, barely a day later, North Korea responded that it was willing to carry on with the summit, to which Trump responded on a positive note.

The meeting between Moon and Kim assumes significance in the wake of their 27 April inter-Korean summit at Panmunjom – an inter-Korean truce village – where the Panmunjom Declaration was signed with both sides vowing to end the war and hostilities.