June 13 in History
2000 – President Kim Dae-jung of South Korea meets Kim Jong-il, leader of North Korea, for the beginning of the first ever inter-Korea summit, in the northern capital of Pyongyang
The first-ever meeting between South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and the supreme leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Kim Jong-il, began in Pyongyang on this day in 2000. Described as the first inter-Korean summit since the division of the Korean peninsula in the aftermath of the war from 1950 to 1953, the summit lasted tile June 15 and resulted in the joint declaration announced on June 15.
Kim Dae-jung described the meeting as “the biggest event in our history” As a result of his efforts to facilitate the first inter-Korean summit, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize the same year.
Prior to the meeting, Japanese officials warned South Korean President Kim Dae-jung against touching on sensitive topics, such as ballistic missiles, as it may aggravate relations with the North and hinder opportunities for future meetings.
On the morning of June 13, 2000, the South Korean President flew to Sunan Airport, Pyongyang. The distance was only 100 miles but the journey took over an hour as the plane had to divert its route to avoid the heavily militarized border ]However, as Kim Dae-jung flew to the North, it was still uncertain whether the meeting would go ahead. Thankfully, Kim Jong-il was waiting at the foot of the South Korean leader’s plane, where he was greeted with an elaborate welcome featuring a military band and women in traditional Korean dresses. Kim Dae-jung walked down the steps of the aircraft and towards the North Korean leader, and the two shook hands, each using both hands while smiling. Both leaders took the same limousine into the North Korean capital, where approximately 600,000 North Koreans had lined the streets to greet the convoy, shaking bouquets of pink paper.
Fifty South Korean journalists accompanied Kim Dae-jung to the summit, while non-Korean journalists were prohibited from joining the South Korean President’s delegation.
To date, there have been five such meetings (2000, 2007, April 2018, May 2018, and September 2018), three of them being in Pyongyang, with another two in Panmunjom. The importance of these summits lies in the lack of formal communication between North and South Korea, which makes discussing political and economic issues difficult. The summits’ agendas have included topics such as the ending of the 1950-53 war (currently there is an armistice in force), the massive deployment of troops at the DMZ (approximately two million in total), the development of nuclear weapons by North Korea, and human rights issues.
-Wikipedia
Photo Caption – South Korean President Kim Dae-jung (right) and North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-il, greet each other upon the South Korean leader’s arrival at Sunan Airport in Pyongyang on June 13, 2000 –Yonhap/AP
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