The Korean Peace Summit

Originally had another writing piece locked and loaded for today, but last night I decided to switch it out in light of current events going on in Korea. I think you’ll agree the change was justified.

At the moment the opening phase of a Korean Peace Summit is going on that might finally bring an official end of tensions on the Korean Peninsula. As most of you probably know, the Korean War technically never ended and North and South Korea have had a frayed relationship since then, and that relationship has only gotten more complicated in the aftermath of North Korea acquiring nuclear weapons. While open hostilities have not erupted during the past 65 years, there have been a number of incidents over those years that have put the region and the world on edge. This year there’s a small chance for enduring peace to finally emerge.

Yesterday in Korea, Kim Jong-un stepped over the concrete slab at the Joint Security Area of the DMZ that marks the border of the two countries and walked into South Korea with the South Korean president. This is the first time a member of the Kim dynasty has ever done such a thing. It’s still too early to tell, and there are a thousand ways the peace summit could fail, but this could the beginning of one of this decade’s defining moments. Below is a video of the ceremony that I was able to find on Youtube.

I watched that moment live on one of the TVs at my gym and I got a little chill the moment Kim Jong-un crossed the border. Last year I visited the DMZ myself and I remember being right there at the Joint Security Area where the North and South Korean leaders walked yesterday. I think we here in America have a hard time realizing what a momentous event this is for the Korean Peninsula, but we really ought to be paying more attention to this. Yes, there’s a lot of (warranted) skepticism about the peace summit and whether or not Kim Jong Un is going to negotiate in good faith—as you heard from the ABC Australia commentators in the video—and the whole summit could very well amount to nothing. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be hopeful that one of the world’s most volatile regions could finally find peace.

Also, just as an aside at the end here, I would like to reiterate to both South Korean President Moon Jae-in and American President Donald Trump that I am ready at a moment’s notice to activate my contingency plan if negotiations start to fall apart. Just give me the call and I’ll be there.