Moon and Kim engage in one-on-one talks before summit agreement signing
  • 6 years ago
One of the most intriguing parts of the inter-Korean summit day was in the late afternoon when the two leaders took part in a tree-planting ceremony and went for a walk along a nearby footbridge.
The cameras were focused on Moon and Kim as they were locked in conversation for a good half-an-hour,... providing us a glimpse of what normally happens behind closed doors.
Kwon Jang-ho reports.
First on the agenda in the afternoon was the planting of a commemorative tree.
Shortly before 4-thirty PM, President Moon Jae-in emerged from the Peace House at Panmunjom.
He eschewed the red carpet and motorcade and walked to the tree with his advisors.
Meanwhile Kim Jong-un, turned up in a black limousine with his security personnel running alongside.
After another quick handshake, the two leaders each picked up a shovel, and completed the planting of a pine tree, with soil from Baekdu mountain in North Korea and from Halla mountain on South Korea's Jeju Island.
Pine trees hold an auspicious place in Korean history, representing peace and prosperity, and this one itself was originally sown in 1953, the year that hostilities ended in the Korean War.

Kim offered a few comments, before they continued to water the tree, again with water from rivers in the Koreas.
A monument commemorating the occasion was unveiled, with the words, "Here we plant peace and prosperity."

Then they took a short stroll towards a footbridge, where they looked at an old signpost that marked the Military Demarcation Line, before they sat down together a table.
The cameramen that had followed them were shoo-ed away, before they engaged in talks lasting some 30 minutes.
This was the opportunity for the two leaders to have a frank discussion, away from other officials and the press.
What did they leaders talk about? That, we may never know.

The two leaders then walked back to the Peace House to continue their afternoon summit talks.
Kwon Jang-ho, Arirang News.
Recommended