大象传媒

Summary

  • President Trump met the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un at demarcation line between North and South Korea

  • The two men shook hands with Mr Kim saying he had never expected to meet the president at this place

  • Mr Trump then crossed over into North Korea, the first US President to do so

  • Mr Kim then stepped over into the South with Mr Trump, then greeted the South Korean president Moon Jae-in

  • Amid the theatre, the leaders held hour-long talks, agreeing to set up negotiating teams to continue discussions

  1. Trump: DMZ 'extremely peaceful'published at 07:04 British Summer Time 30 June 2019

    Mr Trump, speaking at the DMZ, says there was "great conflict here prior to our summit in Singapore" which he says was "not necessarily reported but they [South Korea] understood it very well".

    "Now it's extremely peaceful, it's a whole different world", he says.

    He notes that the 35 million residents of Seoul live within range of North Korean weapons at the DMZ.

    "It's all working out, it always works out," says Mr Trump.

    Moon and Trump at the DMZImage source, Reuters
  2. Windy day at the DMZpublished at 06:58 British Summer Time 30 June 2019

    We're seeing live footage of Mr Trump and Mr Moon touring the DMZ viewing zone. It looks like reasonable but windy weather.

    It's worth noting that Mr Trump had wanted to visit the DMZ during a previous visit to South Korea in 2017, but it was called off because of poor weather and low visibility.

  3. Deep meaning for Moonpublished at 06:55 British Summer Time 30 June 2019

    President Moon Jae-in has made resolving the Korean crisis a key part of his time in office, if not his life.

    Mr Moon is the child of North Koreans - he was born in a refugee camp - and has said reaching peace with North Korea would be a dream come true.

    The 大象传媒's Laura Bicker in South Korea says Mr Moon will probably hang back at the DMZ today and let Mr Kim and Mr Trump have the moment, as long as it leads to progress.

    Moon: Caught between Trump and Kim

    Donald Trump and Moon Jae-in shake hands in SeouImage source, AFP
  4. Trump confirms the meetingpublished at 06:47 British Summer Time 30 June 2019

    This was the moment that Mr Trump and Mr Moon confirmed the rumoured meeting, during a press conference in Seoul. They headed off to the DMZ shortly after this announcement.

    Media caption,

    US-North Korea: Trump confirms historic DMZ meeting with Kim

  5. Moon and Trump are at the borderpublished at 06:46 British Summer Time 30 June 2019

    We're now seeing live footage of Mr Trump and Moon overlooking the DMZ. They're at a viewing platform, which tourists can also visit, giving a good view of the zone and its troops.

  6. Nuclear weapons not being discussedpublished at 06:46 British Summer Time 30 June 2019

    The 大象传媒's Laura Bicker, who is near the DMZ, says the one thing NOT being talked about today is North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.

    It's one thing agreeing to a handshake, she says, but the question will be whether Mr Trump can avoid the criticism that this is just a photo op, and whether North Korea is now willing to sit down for further talks to iron out the details of the nuclear crisis.

    "Beyond it all is a deeper issue that diplomats have wrestled with decades," says our correspondent. "Can Mr Trump transfer this moment into greater action?"

  7. 'Trump's stroll into North Korea is ludicrous'published at 06:45 British Summer Time 30 June 2019

    Some reckon the meeting is a necessary bit of theatrics to help thaw relations between the two nations, and edge ever closer to a denuclearisation deal.

    But CNN's Nic Robertson is not convinced.

    "Kim and North Korea are being drawn away from a potential US orbit of influence, which is just the way Xi and Putin want it," .

    "Kim has far less reason than before to comply with anything Trump wants, which makes the US President's stroll onto North Korean land all the more ludicrous."

  8. What is the DMZ?published at 06:43 British Summer Time 30 June 2019

    The DMZ - demilitarised zone - is a buffer between North and South Korea.

    It's been in place since the end of the Korean war in 1953. The Koreas have never signed a peace treaty, so are technically still at war.

    The DMZ is a thin strip of land intended to keep the two militaries apart to prevent accidental clashes or heated exchanges (though both have sometimes happened).

    On both sides 鈥 but more so on the northern side, it is heavily fortified with mines and other equipment and constantly watched by troops.

    Soldier at the DMZImage source, EPA
  9. 'We may need to rethink Kim'published at 06:42 British Summer Time 30 June 2019

    More from John Delury, who says events like this are "where the highly unconventional approach of president Trump can do some positive things".

    If the handshake moment happens, he says, "we also need to re-think, who is Kim Jong-un, and his willingness to do something on the spur of the moment".

  10. 'Don't dismiss symbolism'published at 06:42 British Summer Time 30 June 2019

    All parties have stressed that this will be a symbolic meeting, not a third summit.

    But John Delury of Yonsei University in Seoul told the 大象传媒 a handshake can鈥檛 be entirely dismissed as a photo op.

    "Sometimes we鈥檙e too dismissive of theatre and symbolism. That鈥檚 what politics is and what they鈥檙e trying to do is change the political relationship between the two countries," he said.

  11. Quick summary of events so farpublished at 06:37 British Summer Time 30 June 2019

    A reminder that the last two years have seen events proceed at breakneck speed.

    In 2017 North Korea was firing off missiles repeatedly, causing real anxiety and anger internationally.

    Then in January 2018 Mr Kim indicated he was open to talks, and after liaison talks with South Korea's Moon Jae-in, his first meeting with Mr Trump took place in Singapore in June last year. They committed to denuclearisation, but without specifics.

    In February this year they had their second summit, in Hanoi. But that also ended without an agreement.

  12. Will Mr Trump step into North Korea?published at 06:36 British Summer Time 30 June 2019

    No sitting US president has ever gone into the DMZ. Mr Trump is not expected to cross over into North Korea proper, but earlier on Sunday he did say he would have "no problem" doing so.

    If he did, that would be considered a hugely significant moment. It would also anger critics who say Mr Trump is normalising one of the most oppressive countries in the world and accepting its nuclear weapons programme.

    Here's more on the human rights situation in North Korea.

  13. 'From enemies to frenemies'published at 06:35 British Summer Time 30 June 2019

    As Mr Trump and Mr Kim prepare to meet again - albeit briefly - here's a look back at their turbulent relationship.

    Media caption,

    Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un: From enemies to frenemies

  14. 'See if I can say hello'published at 06:33 British Summer Time 30 June 2019

    Mr Trump said he had arrived in South Korea on Saturday and thought: "Hey, I'm here let's see whether I can say hello."

    After a night of speculation, the meeting between Mr Kim and Mr Trump was confirmed about an hour ago in a joint press conference in Seoul with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

    "It's going to be very short, virtually a handshake. But that's OK. A handshake means a lot."

  15. Handshake is moments awaypublished at 06:32 British Summer Time 30 June 2019

    The entourage carrying President Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in has arrived at the border area. It's not quite clear what will happen, but Mr Moon has said they will have a handshake for peace" at Panmunjom, that鈥檚 the so-called 鈥渢ruce village鈥 inside the the DMZ.

    You can find out more about that here: Five things about Panmunjom

  16. A spontaneous invitation?published at 06:32 British Summer Time 30 June 2019

    Mr Trump鈥檚 visit to the DMZ was long planned, though has been kept under wraps. But on Saturday night after arriving in Seoul he issued at invitation to Mr Kim, apparently on a whim, via Twitter.

    That set in pace a flurry of diplomacy. North Korea issues an unusually quick response, with state media quoting Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui as saying it was "a very interesting suggestion".

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  17. Live coverage - historic handshakepublished at 06:22 British Summer Time 30 June 2019

    Hello and welcome to our live coverage of events in South Korea today, where Donald Trump is about to become the first sitting US president to go into the DMZ 鈥 the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea - and meet North Korea's Kim Jong-un for the third time.