PARIS: World leaders and governments hailed the historic summit Friday between the leaders of North and South Korea as a step toward peace, but also sounded a note of caution about the challenges ahead.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-In, at the first such summit in 11 years, agreed to pursue a permanent peace and the complete denuclearization of the divided peninsula.
“After a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place,” tweeted US President Donald Trump.
“Good things are happening, but only time will tell!” added Trump, who is scheduled to meet Kim within weeks.
In a second tweet, Trump wrote: “KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!“
“We applaud the Korean leaders’ historic step and appreciate their political decisions and courage,” Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a press briefing.
“This is very positive news,” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman told reporters.
“Today we see that this direct dialogue has taken place (and) it has certain prospects,” he said.
“The will to seek agreement can be seen on both sides, including the most important thing — the will to begin and continue dialogue. That is a positive fact,” Dmitry Peskov said.
“This is a first step, it is encouraging, but we have to realize there is still a lot of hard work that lies ahead of us,” NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg cautiously said at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the “truly historic summit” in a statement.
Guterres “salutes the courage and leadership that resulted in the important commitments and agreed actions” and counts on the parties to “swiftly implement all agreed actions,” the statement added.
“He looks forward to these gains being consolidated and advanced at the summit between the leaders of the United States and the DPRK expected to take place in the near future,” it said, referring to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the North’s official name.
EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini said the meeting “shows that the way to peace is possible, against all the odds.”
She said the bloc was ready to lend its “full support to the denuclearization of the Peninsula.”
“The European Union, today as always, stands on the side of peace, on the side of de-nuclearization, and for a prosperous future for all Koreans,” she said in a statement.
“I am very encouraged by what’s happened. I don’t think that anyone looking at the history of North Korea’s plans to develop a nuclear weapon will be over-optimistic but it’s clearly good news that the two meet,” British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said in Brussels.
World reacts to historic Korea summit
World reacts to historic Korea summit
Thai army accuses Cambodia of violating truce with over 250 drones
- The Thai army said on Monday “more than 250 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were detected flying from the Cambodian side, intruding into Thailand’s sovereign territory” on Sunday night, according to a statement
BANGKOK: Thailand’s army accused Cambodia on Monday of violating a newly signed ceasefire agreement, reached after weeks of deadly border clashes, by flying more than 250 drones over its territory.
The Southeast Asian neighbors agreed to the “immediate” ceasefire on Saturday, pledging to end renewed border clashes that killed dozens of people and displaced more than a million this month.
But the fresh allegation from Bangkok and its threat to reconsider releasing Cambodian soldiers held by Thailand left a sustained truce in doubt, even as their foreign ministers wrapped up two days of talks hosted by China.
The Thai army said on Monday “more than 250 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were detected flying from the Cambodian side, intruding into Thailand’s sovereign territory” on Sunday night, according to a statement.
“Such actions constitute provocation and a violation of measures aimed at reducing tensions, which are inconsistent with the Joint Statement agreed” during a bilateral border committee meeting on Saturday, it said.
The reignited fighting this month spread to nearly every border province on both sides, shattering an earlier truce for which US President Donald Trump took credit.
Under the truce pact signed on Saturday, Cambodia and Thailand agreed to cease fire, freeze troop movements and cooperate on demining efforts and combatting cybercrime.
They also agreed to allow civilians living in border areas to return home as soon as possible, while Thailand was to return 18 Cambodian soldiers captured in July within 72 hours, if the ceasefire held.
’Small issue’
Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn described the drone incident as “a small issue related to flying drones seen by both sides along the border line.”
He said on Cambodian state television on Monday that the two sides had discussed the issue and agreed to investigate and “resolve it immediately.”
Thai army spokesman Winthai Suvaree said in a statement the drone activity reflected “provocative actions” and a “hostile stance toward Thailand,” which could affect the security of military personnel and civilians in border areas.
Thailand’s army “may need to reconsider its decision regarding the release of 18 Cambodian soldiers, depending on the situation and the behavior observed,” it said.
Several family members of soldiers held by Thailand for six months had little faith they would be released, even before Bangkok raised fresh doubts.
Heng Socheat, the wife of a soldier, told AFP on Monday she worried the Thai military might renege on its pledge.
“Until my husband arrives home, then I will believe them,” she said.
Prayers for peace
Five days of border clashes in July killed dozens of people before a truce was brokered by the United States, China and Malaysia, the chair of the ASEAN regional bloc.
Trump witnessed the signing of a follow-on declaration between Thailand and Cambodia in October but it was broken within months, with each side blaming the other for instigating the fresh fighting.
The conflict stems from a territorial dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of the 800-kilometer (500-mile) Thai-Cambodian border, where both sides claim centuries-old temple ruins.
While the two nations agreed on Saturday to stop fighting, they still need to resolve the demarcation of their border.
Cambodia, Thailand and China issued a statement at the end of talks in China’s Yunnan province on Monday, saying they had discussed “working step by step through mutual efforts to resume normal exchanges, rebuild political mutual trust, improve Cambodia-Thailand bilateral relations, and safeguard regional stability.”
Cambodia also said on Monday it had called on Thailand to join another bilateral meeting in Cambodia in early January “to discuss and continue survey and demarcation work” at the border.
More than a hundred Buddhist monks and hundreds of others dressed in white shirts met at a war monument on the outskirts of the Cambodian capital on Monday evening to pray for peace with their neighbor.
