Priesident Trump was quoted recently as saying that South Koreans could “do nothing” vis a vis North Korea without his permission. Oops.
According to this report in the New York Times today, South Korean President Moon, a child of refugees from North Korea and a liberal in favor of re-unification, is talking about demilitarizing the border village of Panmunjom. This is a seriously scary place in the middle of the DMZ where stone-faced North Korean guards stare at South Korean and American forces on the other side. Panmunjom would become a “symbol of peace” on the divided peninsula.
Moon is also talking with Kim Jung-un’s government about reconnecting roads and railroads on both sides of the DMZ, which would set the stage for some measure of trade and further development of economic relations.
Moon is working very hard to make progress on relations with the North, accepting Pyongyang’s position that such improvements are possible before the North engages in complete denuclearization. Trump is demanding that the North give up all its nuclear weapons before he will ease sanctions.
So daylight is opening up between Seoul and Washington–which is exactly what Kim hopes to achieve. Who’s winning now?
