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The meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) leader Kim Jong Un in Beijing this week was the latest in a series of overtures Pyongyang has made in recent months. While 2017 saw tensions ratchet up on the Korean Peninsula, following a series of nuclear and missiles tests by the DPRK, 2018 has shown signs of a possible thaw.
Here’s a quick recap of recent developments.
Unified Korea at the Olympics
In January, Seoul’s unification ministry announced that the DPRK would take part in February’s Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, after rare talks between the two sides.
The Unified Korea's delegation parades during the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games, February 9, 2018.
Athletes from the DPRK and Republic of Korea (ROK) marched together at the opening ceremony on February 9 under a unified flag depicting the Korean Peninsula in blue against a white background. The neighbors also fielded a unified women’s ice hockey team.
The DPRK sent a delegation of several hundred staff and athletes, including a large team of cheerleaders who made headlines with their coordinated chants and outfits.
Kim Yo Jong travels to PyeongChang
Pyongyang did more than dispatch some nameless athletes: Kim Jong Un also sent his sister Kim Yo Jong to the Olympics, the first member of the ruling family to travel south since the end of the Korean War.
ROK President Moon Jae-in, IOC President Thomas Bach, top DPRK official Kim Yong Nam, and Kim Yo Jong, sister of DPRK leader Kim Jong Un, attend a women's ice hockey match between Unified Korea and Switzerland during the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, February 10, 2018.
She was accompanied by top DPRK official Kim Yong Nam, and the two met with ROK President Moon Jae-in and Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon.
They also attended the opening ceremony in PyeongChang, where they were seated near US Vice President Mike Pence, prompting speculation the two may have conversed. Pence however denied the claims, insisting he had ignored her.
Inter-Korean talks
Kim used his sister’s visit to the ROK to also invite Moon to talks in Pyongyang. After an ROK delegation visited the DPRK earlier this month, the two sides agreed to a summit in late April in the village of Panmunjom in the Joint Security Area near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
October 3, 2007: ROK President Roh Moo-hyun (L) and DPRK leader Kim Jong Il (R) shake hands at the inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang, DPRK.
The meeting will mark the first time that leaders from the two sides have held face-to-face talks since 2007. Eleven years ago, talks were held between Kim’s father Kim Jong Il and ROK President Roh Moo-hyun.
A date has yet to be set for the meeting, but high-level talks this week between officials from the north and south are due to iron out details – including the agenda – ahead of the summit.
Trump-Kim summit
Another historic summit, this time between the US and the DPRK, is expected to take place in May.
An ROK soldier walks past a television screen showing pictures of US President Donald Trump (L) and DPRK leader Kim Jong Un in Seoul, March 9, 2018.
US President Donald Trump agreed earlier this month to meet face-to-face with Kim Jong Un, following an invitation passed on by ROK officials. This will be the first ever meeting between incumbent leaders of both countries. The location has yet to be confirmed.
After news of the summit, Trump tweeted: “The deal with North Korea (DPRK) is very much in the making and will be, if completed, a very good one for the World.”
Kim visits Beijing, meets with Xi
In a further sign that Pyongyang may be seeking a rapprochement with its neighbors, Kim made what was believed to be his first visit abroad as DPRK leader when he traveled to China on March 25-28. His meeting with Xi, reported by Xinhua, was also his first known meeting with a foreign leader.
Chinese President Xi Jinping holds talks with DPRK leader Kim Jong Un at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
The two discussed the situation on the Korean Peninsula as well as the need to maintain strong bilateral relations. Kim was quoted as saying the DPRK was “committed to denuclearization on the peninsula” and hoped to see reconciliation and cooperation in ties with the ROK.
Flurry of diplomatic activity
Ahead of the summits with Moon and Trump, DPRK officials have embarked on a series of diplomatic trips in recent weeks.
Chung Eui-yong (L), South Korea's national security adviser, meets DPRK leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang, March 5, 2018.
Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho traveled to Sweden where he met with his counterpart Margot Wallstrom to discuss the situation on the Korean Peninsula. This was followed days later by a meeting between senior DPRK diplomat Choe Kang Il and former US and ROK officials in Finland, prompting speculation the Trump-Kim summit could take place in the Nordic country.
On Tuesday, senior DPRK and ROK envoys also met at a gathering of national parliaments in Geneva. They shook hands and toasted peace with Swiss wine, in what observers said was a further sign of rapprochement between the two sides, reports said.
(CGTN)
